


Where the Streets Have no Name

by AliciasClarke (fyeahgila)



Category: The Rolling Stones
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1970s, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cute, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feelings Realization, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Light Angst, M/M, Making Love, Motorcycles, Non-Graphic Violence, Past Abuse, Relationship Discussions, Romantic Fluff, Vacationing in France, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, holiday trip, roadtrip au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-03-13 22:15:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 39,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18949720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fyeahgila/pseuds/AliciasClarke
Summary: This is kind of a sequel to "You Give Me Something to Talk About", at least it's set in the same AU. A few months after they first met, Mick and Keith decide to go on a roadtrip through France on Keith's motorcycle...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys,  
> I've started this story in March but then everything got really freaking crazy irl and I barely had time writing for some weeks. A few days ago I finally got around to writing again and I really hope that I can keep this up. Hopefully you like this one, it's a bit lighter and without all the drama and pining of most of my other stories and it most definitely will be the smuttiest so far lol... Enjoy reading!
> 
> P.S. the work title is obviously named after the U2 song :D

“I've never taken a night ferry”, Mick mused as they arrived at the International port in Harwich where their overnight ferry to Le Havre in France would be leaving in a few hours. Keith had cut the engine and for now they were standing on a car park, near the harbour, but they could already see all the huge cargo ships, the luxurious cruise liners, and the ferry boats that were anchored in the harbour. 

“Well, I have never been on a ferry before at all…”, Keith announced as he took off his motorcycle helmet and started rummaging in one of the saddlebags, looking for something. 

“Don't worry, darling, it'll be okay”, Mick told him, for the umpteenth time, nudging his arm lightly, because he knew that his boyfriend was a bit afraid of getting sea-sick. 

They'd decided to go on a road trip through France on Keith's motorcycle, see Paris, and then down to the Cote d'Azur, go swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. It was their first real holiday trip together and they couldn't be more excited about it. It had been a few months now since Keith accidentally spilled his drink on Mick at a pub in Islington where he had been playing with his band. Then they'd ended up talking and walking through London for quite a while that night, before Keith had eventually kissed him. For both of them it had been clear from that very moment that they wanted to see each other again and so they went out together only a couple nights later. They'd gone to the cinema, secretly holding hands in the dark like two lovestruck teenagers. 

But it was 1978 and even though it finally wouldn't send them straight to jail anymore, two men publicly showing affection for each other still was utterly frowned upon. It couldn't only attract dumb comments, but also direct threats, sometimes even a beating by idiotic, ignorant blokes. Luckily the latter hadn't happened to any of them before, but they had obviously heard of friends or acquaintances getting in a bad situation like this. So for them, going to the cinema had been a really nice option, because nobody would notice them there. 

Afterwards, Keith had walked him home, declining his offer to come inside for a drink, kissing him goodnight instead. Mick had thought it was incredibly endearing and a nice change that Keith was somebody who actually made him wait for more. And for once, he hadn't even been annoyed or frustrated about that, but had really been looking forward to seeing him again a few days later for a lunch date. Only after Mick went to see Keith and his band play, more than two weeks after they got to know each other, Keith had taken him home afterwards and they'd slept with each other for the first time. They'd had some overwhelmingly amazing sex that night, which led them to not being able to keep their hands off each other for the following days to come. And like this, they ended up actually being together. 

Since then, things had went exceptionally great between them for the past couple of months and Mick considered himself pretty lucky to have met a man like Keith. He was an absolutely awesome boyfriend, incredibly caring, sweet and funny, and something Mick appreciated a lot about him, totally creative and talented. Apart from his band, he was a music teacher, giving private guitar and piano lessons, and also was running a small record shop with his mate, Ronnie. This all made him appear way busier than he actually was, because above all, Keith was a free spirit, blessed to do these things that he loved and earning money from them, while having the freedom to more or less choose to work whenever he wanted. Mick himself, on the other hand, mainly was writing TV scripts for the BBC and sometimes also a couple theatre critiques for the one or other paper or magazine. It also made it possible to mostly work whenever he liked and so it was an easy thing for them to decide to just take off two weeks and disappear to France for a little while. 

“What are you looking for?”, he wanted to know as Keith opened up the other saddlebag now.

“Our tickets. Where did I put them?”, he gave back, sounding mildly irritated. 

“You gave them to me because you said you'd probably lose them otherwise, remember?”, Mick chuckled, pulling them out of his backpack and handing them to him with a grin, while Keith only rolled his eyes.

“It says check-in's at gate 32B”, he read off the information printed on the tickets and Mick nodded, as Keith gave him the tickets back. 

“It also says check-in starts at 5:30pm, so we're right on time”, Mick said with a hint of irony, grinning, because they were actually half an hour late, since Keith had taken forever packing up all his stuff last minute this morning. 

“That was totally on purpose, baby, I just didn't want us to queue for hours”, Keith returned, winking at him, before they both put their helmets back on and Keith revved up the engine. 

Eventually, they found the gate that they had to use, along with all the other people who would be taking a car or a motorcycle. They didn't even have to wait long (which Keith commented with “Told you so!”, directed at Mick) until they had to show their boarding tickets and passports. Once checked-in and equipped with the key for their cabin, Keith rode his chopper up the loading ramp and onto one of the assigned parking areas. There they were reminded to only take along the luggage that they needed overnight and to leave all the rest on the cargo deck because nobody would be allowed to be down there anyway once boarding was over. 

“Which deck are we again?”, Keith wanted to know, slightly annoyed as they'd went up the stairs for what felt like ten decks already. 

“Deck 6, cabin 6021 is what it says on the key”, Mick returned with a grin upon Keith's impatience. “Oh look, we're there already!”, he added, pointing at the sign saying Deck 6. 

“Already…”, Keith huffed and Mick only chuckled, lightly bumping against him. “How many decks are there, ten?”, Keith mused then. 

“I don't know, we can find out after we put our things into the cabin. We could go to the sun deck then, shall we?”, Mick suggested and Keith nodded eagerly in reply, giving him a wide smile. 

It took them a while to finally find their cabin, because the rooms were numbered in a quite confusing order and also the aisles were endlessly long and really small. So each time someone approached them from the opposite direction, one party had to actually stop and let the others pass, which was kind of annoying. But they were on a ferry after all. 

“Oh my...that's the cabin?”, Keith called out, after opening the door and as Mick stepped inside behind him, he saw why Keith sounded so confused. 

It was incredibly tiny. There barely was any room to move around and even just standing there made him feel like being caged in a way too small box. The equipment was sparse, there was a bunk bed of which the top bed had to be swung down from where it was attached to the wall in order to be able to use it. There were some coat hangers and a chair as well, but that was about it. To their right there also was a door to an even tinier en-suite bathroom. What made it even a little worse was that there was no window, since they'd booked one of the cheapest cabins, but it totally would do for just one night. 

“Are you calling dibs on the top bunk?”, Keith asked him with a smirk, as he'd put his bag down and inspected how to swing it out from the wall. It didn't look particularly safe. 

“Can't we just take the bottom one together?”, Mick suggested because he knew that Keith didn't want to actually take the top one and he'd rather also not. From what it appeared like, it didn't seem too trustworthy to not accidentally fall down in the middle of the night. 

“Seems a little small, but we'll just get really cozy”, Keith returned, smirking and Mick smiled in reply. 

“This was my plan, actually”, he meant and Keith chuckled, grabbing him by the lapels of his leather jacket to pull him closer and Mick wrapped his arms around his neck.

“Hmm, I see...well it sounds like a really nice plan”, Keith said, grinning at him before closing the gap between them to capture his lips in a gentle kiss. Mick gladly kissed him back, digging his hand into Keith's hair to pull him even closer, messing it up by doing so. 

“How about we go upstairs and follow the ferry leaving the harbour?”, Mick proposed after they’d broken apart again. They still were standing together so closely that he could feel Keith's quickened breath on his face, and he had his hands placed on Mick's hips, holding him. 

“Yeah sure, let's go outside”, Keith replied, but didn't let go of him before pressing some more light kisses to his lips. 

Out on the sundeck, there already were a lot of people around, all waiting for the ferry to depart.The weather was really amazing on this late August evening, the salty scent of the sea in the air, and those who had been on deck early had managed to snatch a seat on one of the sun chairs. They found a spot at the railing that wasn't too overcrowded yet and leaned against it. Looking downwards, Mick had to admit that the ferry was quite gigantic, because the height they were in seemed to be as much as the 7th or 8th floor of a tower building. Not long after they’d arrived on deck, the ferry finally started leaving the harbour, setting its route for the open sea. 

“See, you don't even notice that you're on a ship”, Mick commented after a while, as the ferry was moving further away from the port and the sea breeze was messing up their hair. 

“I hope it stays that way”, Keith gave back, looking down into the grey waters swirled up by the movement of the ferry. “Fancy some dinner? I think the dining room should be open by now”, he added and Mick agreed because he actually felt quite hungry by now. 

So they left the sundeck, going downstairs again, looking for the deck with the dining hall. Once there, a server pointed them to a table for two and they went to explore the dinner buffet. There were various kinds of salads, mashed potatoes, grilled potatoes, chips, vegetables, fish, stew, shepherd's pie, different kind of pastries, and for dessert ice cream, cake and biscuits. 

“I had no clue there would be that much food!”, Keith exclaimed, as he was helping himself to his favourite, shepherd's pie. “It's like they want to fatten you”, he meant and made Mick chuckle, as he put some fish, peas, and potatoes onto his own plate. 

“Seems like they're investing all the money from the tickets into food, probably that’s why the cabins are the way they are...”, Mick meant as they sat down at their table and he opened one of the water bottles standing there. 

They were enjoying their dinner, joking about the tiny cabins and lightly chatting about things they could do the following day once they reached Le Havre, like exploring the city, maybe going down to the beach, looking for a nice little place to have some food. They also had to find a hotel or inn they could stay at for a night or two until they decided to continue their trip. 

“Are you trying to get sick from all that sweet stuff, babe?”, Mick asked Keith in a low voice, sounding incredulous, as he actually had gotten himself yet even more dessert. 

“Hey, a man has to eat something!”, Keith faked a complaint and Mick only rolled his eyes at that. 

“You will get fat and we won't fit into the bunk bed together”, he teased him, grinning widely.

“Well I guess then you have to take the top one since I'll be too heavy”, Keith countered with a wink, spooning up some chocolate ice cream with pleasure. “You gotta try that, though, it's good!”, he added then, pushing his dessert bowl over to Mick so that he could have a try. And Keith wasn't even over exaggerating. As he took a spoon full himself, Mick had to admit that it actually tasted pretty good, and he pushed the bowl back with a grin on his face that made Keith chuckle. 

“See”, he just meant and Mick had to chuckle as well. 

“What do you want to do now? Explore the ship?”, Mick wanted to know once Keith had finished eating as well and was contently leaning back in his chair. 

“Sure, yeah let's”, Keith returned eagerly and they went on their way out of the dining room. 

For a while they just walked down a sheer endlessly long aisle, but at its end they actually reached something like a small casino. There were various gambling machines, some of them occupied by people trying their luck, and there also were two pool tables. At the end of the room there was a bar with a girl playing some country song on acoustic guitar, singing along to it. 

“I should have brought my guitar after all”, Keith mentioned with a wistful sigh as they walked further into the room, looking around. 

“And how did you want to transport it?”, Mick inquired, since they already had to shorten their luggage, but Keith only shrugged. 

“I could have come up with something.”

“Well, if you wanna play so badly, why not go ask her if she lets you borrow it for a song or two?”, Mick grinned at him. 

“If you help me sing”, Keith returned, almost sheepishly now. Mick was aware that while Keith loved playing with his bandmates, he wasn't really someone to hog the limelight all by himself. Keith was a little too self-conscious about his singing voice when he didn't just have to sing backup vocals, even though Mick didn't quite understand why, he thought it sounded really great. But since he'd never tried playing music in front of people himself, he didn't know what it felt like standing there. They'd been singing together before, but only at home and just for fun, when Keith was playing him something on guitar. And he'd also tried to teach him some things recently, being quite delighted about the fact that Mick was able to pick up on it quickly, even though he'd only played some piano before as a kid and had never held a guitar in his hands so far. Mick had told him that it must be because Keith was an amazing teacher, and he really was having a great deal of fun playing. 

“I think I'd need a couple of drinks first before considering this”, he joked and lightly nudged Keith's arm with his own. 

“Do you want to grab a drink now?”, Keith asked him then and he nodded in agreement, because why not? It was the first night on their holiday trip and they sure could drink to that. 

So they ordered some Guinness and went over to one of the bar tables because all the bar stools already were taken. 

“To making this trip a great one”, he meant with a broad smile, lifting his pint and Keith agreed with a “Cheers!”, returning his smile sweetly, before they had some sips of their drinks. 

“Hmm, I'd really love to kiss you right now, baby”, Keith quietly told him as they'd put their glasses down, not taking his eyes off Mick's. 

“I know, darlin’...you can do that once we're back in the cabin, promise”, Mick gave back just as quietly, leaning a little closer to him and almost unnoticeably trailed his fingers over the back of Keith's hand. Obviously it was frustrating to play hiding like this, pretend to be just mates, or brothers. But they knew it was for the better because they didn't want to steer up any trouble. Also they both agreed that knowing they were lovers wasn't anybody's business but their own and the people they chose to inform, like some of their closest friends.

“Am I imagining things or does the ferry sway way more than before? Like you can actually feel the waves hitting?”, Keith asked after they'd lightly chatted for a while, sounding somewhat irritated. 

“You aren't already tipsy from just some Guinness, are you?”, Mick teased him, but upon receiving a glare from him, he sobered up a bit, saying: “I guess the sea got a little rougher out here, I feel it too.” 

“It's a bit odd…”, Keith meant, taking another few sips of his Guinness. 

“It's a ship, Keith, what did you expect?”, Mick asked him, sounding a bit amused. 

“I don't know, I never was on one before...”

“You're gonna be okay”, he assured him with a light smile, softly pressing his arm. 

“Actually I don't really feel too great right now”, Keith replied, not returning his smile, but staring at the bar table in front of them instead. 

“Are you sure it's not just because of all the sweets you stuffed your face with earlier?”, Mick inquired somewhat quizzically. 

“I don’t think I can finish that beer”, Keith said, pushing the not even half empty pint away from himself. 

“Seriously?”, he wanted to know, giving him an incredulous look now. 

“It's not funny…”, Keith meant, completely earnest and then Mick knew that he wasn't just messing around, exaggerating, but that he actually wasn't feeling too great at the moment. 

“Do you need some water?”, he therefore asked him. 

“Nah, I can't drink anything now...”

“Maybe some fresh air?”, Mick suggested instead and Keith nodded lightly. 

“Yeah...let's try that”, he agreed and so they left the bar and the casino room, without finishing their drinks, and went looking for the staircase to get them up onto the sundeck again. While walking through the small aisles, Mick had to admit that the sea actually was harsher now and the ferry was swaying quite a bit, making them stagger and almost crush into the walls. He hoped that Keith would at least feel better again once they’d managed to get outside. As they finally reached the sundeck, where nobody else was around, Keith went over to the railing, tumbling, because of the ferry's movement. 

“Take care, I don't want to have to yell ‘man overboard’”, Mick joked to lighten the mood, following him, putting a hand on his lower back as Keith was just leaning there, gripping the railing. 

“Is it getting any better?”, he asked after a while as Keith didn't reply anything. 

“I think it's only getting worse...it's swaying way more out here…”, Keith gave back after a moment and as Mick carefully looked at him, he noticed that his face seemed really pale. 

“Shall we get back inside? Maybe just lie down?”, he proposed for a change, having no clue what actually helped against sea-sickness since he'd never experienced it himself. 

“I think I gotta...puke”, Keith only got out before he just started coughing and throwing up over the railing. Mick stood there almost helplessly, not knowing what else to do, but gently rubbing Keith’s back and trying to soothe him by telling him it was going to be alright. After a while, Keith finally stopped coughing and tried wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Here, take that”, Mick handed him a tissue and Keith only looked at him out of teary eyes, not able to say anything, just breathing heavily.

“Let's get you back inside”, he decided as Keith seemed to have settled a bit and he only nodded, as Mick wrapped an arm around Keith's waist, trying to support him. 

“How are you doing, love?”, Mick silently asked him halfway to their cabin. The ferry was swaying heavily now and they weren’t the only ones who were staggering around, trying to find hold somewhere in order to not be thrown from one side of the aisles to the other. 

“Not too good...I think...I'm gonna need to throw up again…”, Keith managed to get out, just as they encountered an elderly couple on the narrow aisle leading to their cabin. 

“Oh, are you seasick?”, the old lady inquired, looking quite sorry, as Keith only nodded. 

“It's his first time on a ship”, Mick explained. “You're not feeling unwell?”, he asked then, as they let them pass. They both looked almost completely unfazed. 

“I used to be in the Navy”, the old man said. “The wife's had to endure a lot of ship travels because I cannot keep away from the sea now”, he added with a chuckle. 

“So you're both seaworthy”, Mick commented, smiling politely and they both nodded eagerly. 

“He should lie down a little...or maybe ask for some ginger tea in the kitchen, it helps”, the woman mentioned then with a smile, before they wished them goodnight and continued on their way into the opposite direction. 

As they finally reached their cabin, Keith all but rushed off into the bathroom, heaving up even more into the toilet. Mick could only stand by the door because the room was so incredibly tiny. 

“Are you gonna be alright, or do you want me to go to the kitchen and ask for some ginger tea? Maybe it actually helps?”, he mused, as Keith was coughing, grabbing some toilet paper to wipe his mouth. 

“I don't know…”, he only meant from where he was kneeling on the floor, his voice sounding hoarse, as he already started coughing and retching again. 

“Let me get you some water to rinse your mouth”, Mick suggested, taking his backpack and retrieving one of the bottles they’d bought earlier. Then he hunkered down, holding the water bottle out for Keith, who took some gulps, before spitting it into the toilet and then flushed it all down. 

“Are you okay, darling?”, he inquired then and Keith only nodded once more, taking some more toilet paper to blow his nose. 

“Come on, let's get you up”, Mick added, getting up himself before pulling Keith onto his feet. 

He could barely keep standing, as he was leaning on the sink, rinsing out his mouth some more and washing off his face, because he was shaking so much. Mick simply wrapped an arm around him again, once he was done, leading him over to the bottom bunk where he just laid him down on top of the blanket. He pulled off Keith's shoes, before kicking off his own and squished next to him into the small bed, wrapping him up in his arms. 

“My poor darling…”, he mumbled into Keith's hair, soothingly rubbing his back. “It's gonna be fine soon...surely it won't be this stormy all night long.” 

“I'm sorry, baby…”, Keith only gave back, his voice was pretty rugged, as he was gripping Mick's shirt with one hand as if to look for some steadfast there. 

“Don't be...it’s alright, there's nothing you can do about it”, Mick assured him, cuping his cheek softly and Keith leaned into his touch.

“I ruined our evening…”, he started, but Mick wouldn't have it.

“It's fine, really...don't worry about that. I just want you to feel better, love”, Mick told him, running a thumb over his cheek, as he entangled his legs with Keith's. 

“You know, I always wanted to be a pirate as a kid”, Keith admitted after a moment and he almost sounded defeated. “Pirates don’t get seasick…”

“Probably there was the one or other seasick pirate out there, who knows, they surely won't show that in the movies”, Mick considered in order to make him feel better. 

“Probably not...they wouldn't have been a great asset to an infamous pirate ship terrorizing the Caribbean Sea while being busy retching over the railing”, Keith gave back, but his mood already seemed lighter. 

“Probably not...”, Mick chuckled. “But even if you’re not the most seaworthy pirate, you're still the most handsome one of them all...you're my pirate”, he said, giving him a sweet smile before pecking his lips gently. 

“Tomorrow when we're off that boat it'll all be fine again, darling”, he told him and Keith nodded in agreement, nuzzling his face against Mick's hair.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,  
> thanks a lot for reading and your feedback, I'm really always so happy about each single kudo or comment, it's hugely apprecciated! Hope you enjoy this next chapter :)

Waking up quite early the next morning, Mick felt completely knocked out and stiff because the bunk bed wasn't exactly comfortable and he just couldn't lay down any longer. He was blinking against the fluorescent light of the lamps in the cabin. They didn't even turn them off the night before because they'd just eventually drifted off to sleep somewhere between murmuring little confessions of affection to each other and Keith fearing that he might have to throw up again. Luckily, he hadn’t, though, but he definitely looked as badly rested as Mick felt now. 

“Hey, good morning”, he said in a soft voice, as Keith slowly started to open his eyes as well. They were lying wrapped up closely, legs entangled, faces only centimetres apart.

“Morning, baby”, Keith mumbled in return, his voice thick with sleep. 

“How are you? Feeling any better?”, Mick asked him, running a hand over his cheek softly before he sat up to stretch his back. The sea seemed to have quieted down now, the swaying was almost completely gone. Maybe it was because they were closer to the shore by now. A look at his watch told him that it was shortly before 6am. They'd arrive at Le Havre at about 7:30. 

“Hmm...still a bit odd but maybe it's just the lack of sleep”, he gave back, jawning, before sitting up as well. 

“We don't have to do much today, just take it easy, chill at the beach…”, Mick suggested, smiling lightly.

“Yeah that sounds nice”, Keith agreed with a smile and Mick leaned in to press a short kiss to his lips. 

“Now let's get up and ready for breakfast, probably some coffee or tea will help as well”, he proposed then, getting onto his feet. 

Taking a shower in that tiny bathroom proved to be quite a challenge, once they both were done, they had not only acquired some bruises on their arms but also almost flooded the whole cabin. But at least they felt somewhat more awake already as they went upstairs to the dining room to grab some breakfast. Apart from full English, they also offered some more continental choices like croissants, french rolls, and cereals. They went with some lighter things, coffee and french rolls, and Keith claimed that he couldn't even stomach scrambled eggs and bacon right now if someone paid him for it. After they'd finished their breakfast, the ferry had already reached the harbour and a woman's voice announced via public address system that deboarding would start soon. So they went back to their cabin to gather the few things they'd brought. 

“Did we forget anything?”, Mick asked, letting his gaze wander through the tiny cabin a last time, throwing a glance into the bathroom as well, but apparently they'd packed up everything. 

“Yeah”, Keith replied nevertheless, a little grin on his face, and Mick furrowed his brow. 

“What?”, he inquired, as Keith made a step towards him and then pulled him closer by his hips until Mick bumped against him, wrapping his arms around Keith's neck with a smile. 

“This”, Keith smirked back at him before capturing his lips in a long kiss. Mick kissed him back eagerly, slipping his tongue into his mouth, as Keith snuck a hand to his back to squeeze his bum which made Mick moan lightly. 

“We have to deboard, babe”, Mick reminded him, chuckling and breaking away, as Keith tried to pull him closer to slide a hand underneath his t-shirt. Keith only let out a halfway frustrated sigh, but let go of him after Mick pecked his lips shortly. “Maybe later”, he added with a wink, before opening the cabin door so that they could finally go down to the cargo deck and get the motorcycle. 

Once they were off the ferry and had left the harbour, Keith kept driving through the town of Le Havre, always along the coastline. The traffic was quite busy at this hour, but at least they got a first impression of the city. Which mainly were residential buildings around this area. Eventually, they got to a part of town that appeared to be more like what they were looking for. A beach to their left and many hotels, little shops, and restaurants to their right. After driving around there for a bit, they spotted a car park by the beach that still was mostly empty, and Keith stopped there for now, cutting the engine.

“What do you think?”, he asked him after he pulled off his helmet. 

“Can we leave the bike here for a while and go over there, looking for a hotel room?”, Mick returned, pointing at the hotels and inns across the street. “We should find a place first where we can leave our luggage.”

“Yeah, we should. I don't want to leave everything here, though…”, Keith mused, looking around. There weren't really many people there at the moment. It would be easy for anyone to just drop by and take whatever they wanted out of the saddle bags. 

“So, I go over there and ask if they got a free room somewhere and you wait here?”, he suggested instead and Keith agreed. 

It would be best this way, since Mick actually knew some french because he took a course at uni for extra credits. He actually ended up enjoying the language so much that he took two more classes. It didn't help him too much in London, there obviously he didn't need it, but he'd been to France before and there it certainly could be of advantage. 

“Okay, I try not to be too long”, Mick meant, looking in either direction first, and as he didn't spot anyone, he quickly leaned in and pressed a kiss to Keith's lips. 

The first hotel he came across, was already booked out. He didn't even have to go inside to ask because they had a sign out there, saying there were no rooms available. The next one looked quite expensive, so he passed that one as well and rather decided to try the bed and breakfast a few houses down the street. It didn't look too bad from the outside and also the entrance hall was decorated nicely. As it turned out, they were quite lucky because they still had double bedrooms available, at an affordable price even. So Mick booked for a night with the option to stay a while longer. As he'd signed some papers, the middle-aged woman at the check-in desk wanted to know with whom he was staying there, if his girlfriend was waiting outside. 

“Non, je suis ici avec un ami”, Mick replied and the woman just nodded in acknowledgement before handing him the room keys. He disliked having to refer to Keith as just a friend, it didn't seem right at all. But Keith wasn't the first man he'd been with, so by now Mick had got accustomed to it, even though it bothered him, obviously. The thought that always crossed his mind in situations like these was: maybe one day. Maybe one day, there would be the time where he could talk about Keith and refer to him as his boyfriend and nobody would think it odd, or morally wrong, or a crime even. And nobody would try to bully or hurt them simply for being in love. That day long hadn't come yet, though. 

Once he had the keys, he went back outside to get Keith. He'd taken off his leather jacket and was sitting on a park bench, enjoying the sun and looking over at the sea, as Mick returned to the car park. 

“Hey, look what I got us!”, he called, smiling widely, showing Keith the room key. 

“Wow that went fast!”, Keith commented, mirroring his smile, as he got up and just pulled Mick into a hug. “It's really nice around here”, he added, sneaking a small kiss onto Mick's neck before letting go of him again. 

“We can see more of it once we brought our baggage into the room”, Mick replied and went over to the motorcycle to retrieve some of their things. Keith took the other half of it and they went back to the B&B across the street. Their room there wasn't that much larger than the cabin on the ferry, but at least it looked all nice and clean and the bathroom was a standard hotel size, holding a bathtub even. There also was a large window with a french balcony in front of it and no bunk beds. However, there were two single beds standing at least half a metre apart from each other. 

“Let's push these together”, Keith suggested as Mick only stood there, wondering whether the woman at the reception desk would have given them a room with a double bed if he'd told her he was in fact there with a girlfriend. 

“There's still a gap in between…”, Mick grumbled, as they'd pushed the beds, somewhat dissatisfied with the sleeping arrangement. Keith only walked around the beds towards him, hugging him from behind, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. 

“We can share one, baby, they’re looking bigger than the bunks on the ferry” Keith murmured into his hair and Mick turned around in his arms to look at him.

“Yeah, you're right, love”, he said, smiling sweetly at him before kissing him softly. 

“Let's try if we're fitting into one together”, Keith mumbled against his lips, before just lightly pushing Mick down onto the bed on the right. Mick grinned up at him as they both kicked their shoes off and then grabbed Keith's hand, pulling him onto the bed with him. 

“Ouch, it's hard”, Mick complained as he felt the bedsprings press into his back. 

“Let's try the other one then”, Keith chuckled and Mick rolled onto the left bed, which wasn't too hard, but therefore was creaking quite loudly. Keith followed him, lying on his side as well so that they were facing each other. 

“It's not too bad”, Mick meant with a grin.

“It could be worse”, Keith agreed, before draping a hand over Mick's body to pull him closer until their lips met in another kiss. For a while they were just lying there, kissing slowly, limbs getting entangled. 

“What are you doing, babe?”, Mick asked, smirking into their kisses, as Keith started to run his hand along the waistband of Mick's jeans, dipping a finger beneath. 

“Trying to get into your pants”, he replied with a shameless grin and made Mick chuckle.

“Come on, it's so beautiful outside, we should be checking out the area instead of staying in bed”, Mick meant and Keith just gave him an incredulous look that made him laugh. “We'll have time for other things tonight”, he added, grinning, and Keith gave in with a sigh. 

“I can't believe you're making me wait all day long”, he still complained, even though they both sat up.

“Trust me, it's gonna be way better like this”, Mick said, still grinning. He loved knowing that Keith wanted him this badly, but just as well did he enjoy being a tease for him. 

“Now, do you want to go down to the beach?”

Just a little while later they were dressed in their swimming trunks, towels, water bottles and sun cream packed in a bag and on their way over to the beach. By now it started to get a little more crowded, there were some people putting up sun loungers that one could rent and others were going in for a morning swim. Since Mick and Keith had no intentions of renting a sun lounger and lying where everyone else was, they decided to walk down the beach for a while to look for a place that wouldn’t get too over-crowded even in later hours. A few hundred metres down the shore, at the outskirts of town, there was remarkably little hustle and bustle. There were no hotels anymore, no shops, and everything seemed a little less tamed. A bit further down, the beach even started getting less sandy and more rocky, and there was a sign saying that swimming was at one's own risk over there. 

So they stopped short ahead of that area, spreading their towels onto the warm sand, stripping off their shorts and t-shirts and sat down. Mick rummaged in his bag for the sun cream and started applying some on his face, arms and legs and finally his chest and belly. Then he handed the bottle to Keith. 

“Can you do my back, please?”

“Course, baby”, Keith gave back, smiling. 

“I'll do you after”, Mick said and they both started chuckling at that choice of words. “I meant the sun cream…”, he added for clarification. 

“Of course you did”, Keith snorted and pinched his thigh lightly. 

“Hmm, if you want me to do you tonight…”, Mick started, but Keith disrupted him. 

“Babe...let's get that sun cream on your back first, shall we?”, he asked and Mick noticed with a grin that he clearly was getting all flustered about that possible prospect. He didn't direct the conversation back there but instead turned around and lay down on his stomach. Keith pressed some of the sun cream onto his hands and then started massaging it onto Mick's back. His touch felt almost relaxing and Mick let out a content little sigh. 

“Why aren't you giving me massages more often, darling? You're great at that”, he commented in a joking voice but actually meant it. 

“Well, we could definitely change that...you packed that massaging oil, didn't you?”, Keith replied and his grin was clearly audible. 

“How could I forget that”, Mick returned, grinning as well, thinking about the little bottle with the massage oil they used as lube, as Keith leaned down to him to whisper into his ear. 

“Then maybe I should start using that oil on your back first before moving further down and applying it there...”, he meant and as if to underline his words, trailed a hand down his spine to his lower back. He just stopped short at the waistband of his swimming briefs before slapping his bum, making Mick squeak in surprise. 

“You're good, my turn”, Keith laughed at his reaction, lightly slapping his behind once more. 

Mick just smirked, thinking about something he could get back with at Keith for being such a tease. As Keith had laid down on his stomach, Mick just straddled his hips before starting to apply the sun cream on his back. He didn't massage it onto his skin but his touch was more gentle, running his hands not only over Keith's back but also down his sides and the back of his arms. Almost surprisingly, there still wasn’t anyone but them around at this part of the beach, so Mick leaned down, spreading some light kisses onto Keith's shoulders and neck before putting some sun cream there as well. Mick was aware that Keith was holding back some little moans and it made him grin contently. 

“Turn around for me”, he prompted Keith as he was done and lifted himself up a bit so he could turn underneath him.

“I can do it myself”, Keith dismissed, still on his stomach. 

“Come on, babe, let me do it for you”, Mick tried to coax him into it and eventually Keith complied and turned onto his back. As Mick lowered himself down again, he could clearly feel why Keith had been so reluctant to turn around. 

“I didn't think putting sun cream on would be exciting you that much”, he grinned down at him and Keith visibly blushed about the fact that he had started growing a little hard. 

“Baby, please...we can't do this here”, Keith objected as Mick slowly rubbed some sun cream onto his chest. 

“Who said we would?”, Mick smirked, rocking against him lightly, making him moan. 

“There are people”, Keith protested. 

“There aren't, yet”, he gave back, leaning down to suck on his neck. 

“Mick, come on…”

“I thought you wanted this?”, he asked him, still grinning widely. 

“But not if we aren't gonna finish it, you bloody tease”, Keith returned, sounding somewhat frustrated. 

Mick knew he couldn’t tease Keith for too long without getting turned on himself eventually. And he was clearly aware that they couldn't just end up shagging right there on the beach in broad daylight. It simply was too dangerous. If he was there with a girl, it would be another story. The worst that could happen would probably be that they'd have to pay a fine for breach of the peace, or immorality, or something minor like that. But he didn't know what would happen if someone saw him getting at it with Keith on the beach. In the best case scenario they'd probably get beaten up by some close-minded people, at worst, they could end up in jail. And as much as he loved fooling around with Keith, Mick definitely didn't want their holiday trip to end in jail after just one day. 

“Let's go for a swim then...the water probably isn't that warm yet, it should help”, he suggested, winking at him knowingly and Keith grumbled at that proposal. 

“You're such a git, you know that?”

“Yeah, but you're clearly attracted to that git”, Mick gave back with a toothy grin and Keith just pushed him off of himself, grabbing the sun cream to apply some on his face. 

When they finally were both good to go, Mick pulled Keith up and to the ocean. Tipping their toes into the water first, they could check out that it wasn't that warm yet indeed. Neither was it freezing cold anymore, so Mick just waded further inside, little waves crashing against his legs. 

“Come on, darling! It's nice!”, he called over to Keith who still was standing at the shore, just with his feet in the water. Mick could see that this didn't help his little problem yet and started chuckling. 

“What?”, Keith asked irritated, but instead of answering, Mick just started splashing water towards him and then ran up to him, grabbing him to pull him further into the water as well. 

“It's not that bad once you're in the water, is it?”, he grinned and Keith's annoyed glare vanished, as he started to paddle around. 

“It's nice”, Keith simply gave back, but smiled at him and they started swimming around for a bit. The water was amazingly clear so that one could see the sandy sea bottom and the narrow waves were quite enjoyable. Mick turned onto his back after a while, just drifting on the water, lightly paddling with his arms. But that moment of relaxation didn't last too long, as something pinched his leg and he let out a squeal, splashing water around while trying to stand onto his feet. Luckily it wasn't too deep so he found sandy ground underneath his feet just as Keith emerged from the water, snorting with laughter. 

“Not funny”, Mick complained with a faked pout while Keith was still chuckling. 

“What did you think it was, a killer shark?”, Keith inquired and Mick gave him a glare.

“There is no such breed as a killer shark, not here anyway...it just surprised me, is all…”, he returned, before just splashing water onto Keith's face.

“Hey!” he spluttered, but was quick to retaliate and so they ended up fighting each other with water like little kids. They were laughing and screaming, splashing around, trying to dunk each other and had a lot of fun. Keith managed to actually push him under water, but then he pulled him back up again quickly, just to wrap his arms tightly around his back, bringing him close. 

After a look around, making sure that there was no one else there, and finding out that the nearest other persons probably were at least 300 metres away, Keith pressed his lips against Mick's softly. It was a sweet kiss and Mick gently cupped Keith's cheek to pull him closer and they kept kissing lightly. Keith's hands wandered over his body, down his sides and to his hips, grabbing him tightly. 

“Can we go to the hotel room, please?”, he mumbled against Mick's lips and it made him smirk.

“You're so damn needy today, babe”, Mick gave back in a mocking tone, watching Keith blush. “Didn't the water help you to cool down?”, he added with a wink and Keith got even more embarrassed. 

“You're just too fine-looking, baby, especially in nothing but these swimming briefs”, Keith returned in his defense and Mick chuckled. 

“Okay, let's make a deal”, Mick contemplated, wrapping his arms around Keith's back to bring him closer. “If you manage to behave for a while longer…”, he started, grinning widely. “...and we first go exploring around town, maybe find some sweet little place to get some food…”, he went on until Keith disrupted him.

“Then what?”, he daringly asked with a grin. 

“Well, then you'll get to have me tonight, I'm all yours”, he meant suggestively. 

“You're all mine anyway”, Keith said in a low voice and Mick had to chuckle because it was true. He was clearly mesmerized by this man and had fallen so hard and so fast for him that it would probably frighten him if they weren't both so obviously fascinated by each other and clearly enamoured of each other. Mick was aware that Keith was probably just as crazy about him as he was himself about Keith and they worked really bloody well together. Sometimes he even caught himself, staring at Keith when he wasn’t looking, lost in thoughts about how much he cared about him and that he actually might be the one. 

“That's very true, love, but I believe you can think of the one or other thing you'd like to do then...”, Mick whispered into his ear, almost seductively. 

“Hmm, sounds like a great deal”, Keith agreed and they both were smirking at each other, before Keith engulfed him in another loving kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> Thanks a lot for your kudos and comments, it's always making me smile seeing a new one and I greatly apprecciate your feedback :)
> 
> This chapter is the thottiest one yet but it's also really fluffy and sweet and I loved writing it so much :) 
> 
> Also at the beginning of this story I said it's not gonna be dark and dramatic and just fun and light...uhm, well, that kinda changed a bit now, even though I've some really nice and fun things planned for further chapters, Keith's backstory will come out eventually as well and it really won't be too nice...so, just a head's up there^^

They actually had managed to break the bed. One of the beds, that was, seeing that they technically had two in the room. Nevertheless they were a mess of entangled limbs and sheets on the mattress that had crashed to the floor along with the slatted frame, while the headboard was leaning askew and the foot end had just slid away. Mick didn't know whether he should be laughing or panicking about it, as they both just stared at each other out of wide eyes. Keith had slipped out of him as the bloody bed finally gave in under much creaking and squeaking. It literally had just fallen apart right while Keith was fiercely pounding into him with long, deep thrusts that made Mick cry out in ecstasy. But then both of them had ended up squealing in surprise. Eventually, they both cracked up, snorting with laughter, Keith burying his face in the crook of Mick's neck. 

“You broke the bed, darling…”, Mick breathlessly got out, his eyes teary from laughing so much. “You shagged me so bloody well that the bed broke…”, he giggled, even though they both were undone and all he wanted was to pick up right where they'd left off before the mattress dropped down onto the floor with them on top of it. 

“Well you told me to come up with something”, Keith joked. “I thought hey, why not destroy the bed, we haven't done that yet”, he said and they cracked up again, clinging to each other while shaking from laughter.

“Are you alright, love? Do you want to keep going?”, Mick asked him after a few moments, when he was able to catch his breath again, looking up at Keith who was leaning over him. 

“I uh... I want you, of course, but I…”, he mumbled, his cheeks turning pink, and Mick noticed just now that Keith was about to turn flaccid. 

“Keith, come on, are you for real now?”, he asked incredulously, not able to hide his frustration, because after Keith had been so worked up all day long, he couldn't believe that now he couldn't get it together. All the while Mick felt so heated that he was yearning to have Keith back inside of him again. 

“It was a little shock…”, Keith mumbled sheepishly, not looking at him. “Also what about the headboard? It looks like it might fall down as well...”, he observed before sitting up and just pushing it to the side. “Oops…”, he made as it tumbled to the floor next to them and had Mick break out into laughter again. 

“Well, I guess at least one problem is solved now”, Keith commented dryly, but with an amused look on his face. 

“Don't worry, babe, I've got you”, Mick replied softly, before pulling him down again for a longing kiss, willing to solve that other problem as well. Keith lowered himself on top of him, as Mick slid his hand beneath their bodies until he grazed him, starting to softly caress him once more with his fingers. Happily he noticed that it didn’t take him more than a few well-placed, gentle touches to stir him up anew and elicit some hot moans from Keith's mouth. Keith himself had his hand lightly placed around him as well, making Mick ache in pleasure and for a while they kept fondling and teasing each other some more. 

“It's alright now, love…you're feeling so good”, he murmured between kisses and then wrapped his legs around Keith's hips, while guiding him further down with his hand until he felt Keith's tip brushing against his behind. And by now, Keith was so eager to push into him again that in the next moment, Mick's breath hitched in pain and he dug his nails into Keith's back, because he had taken him way too rough and way too fast. 

“Sorry, baby”, he apologised immediately, stopping in his movement, lightly kissing Mick's cheek and neck instead. “Are you okay?” 

“I'm fine...just finally do me”, he prompted him, as his distress had already faded again and was replaced by longing. Of course, Keith didn't have to be told another time. 

 

They laid beside each other, closely wrapped up on the broken bed, both exhausted and still panting after they had finished off together. Mick had actually called out Keith's name in delight and Keith bit down on his shoulder as they both came at the same time. 

“I can't believe we ruined the bed”, Mick chuckled as he had come down again from his bliss induced height and his breathing had steadied. 

“That's what happens when you make me wait all day long, baby”, Keith meant in a joking tone, and Mick snorted. 

“I wonder what the people in the next room think happened...”, Keith mused then as he was trailing little lines on Mick's chest. 

“Oh, I think they might be perfectly aware that we just had one hell of a great shag...earth shattering and bed-breaking”, Mick gave back, chuckling and Keith grinned at him. 

“We should get cleaned up a bit...you're all sticky”, he suggested then and Mick sighed. 

“Do we have to get up? Cause I’m...uh, you know...feeling quite a bit sore now…”, he admitted abashedly, but he actually was somewhat raw and hurting, even though in a quite agreeable way. Like after going for a run and then your legs and lungs were burning after managing a mile more than planned.

“Did I hurt you?”, Keith wanted to know, sounding a bit concerned, propping up on one arm and trailing his other hand softly over Mick’s chest and belly.

“Uhm...well, you weren't exactly going soft on me tonight, but it’s alright. It was really amazing, babe, you were bloody amazing...don’t worry, I'll be fine”, he assured him, running a hand through Keith's damp hair, smiling at him affectionately. 

“I'm sorry, baby...wait a moment”, he still replied, kissing his lips shortly, before disappearing into the bathroom and Mick could hear him turning up the tap of the bathtub, water running into it. 

“Come here”, Keith meant as he came back after a moment, carefully placing his arms underneath him to lift him up. Mick wrapped his own arms around his neck as Keith scooped him up and carried him over to the bathroom, slowly letting him down into the warm water that was still filling up the tub. Keith put some bathing oil into the water, making it foam and form little bubbles, before joining him. He sat down behind him, with his legs spread on either side of him and then wrapped his arms around him, pulling Mick against his chest. 

“I'll be more gentle with you again next time...”, he mentioned, apologetically, pressing a little kiss to his shoulder 

“I told you, it's fine, love. I actually enjoyed it a lot like this”, Mick said, lightly running his fingers over Keith's arm. 

“Hmm, but I need you to be able to sit on the bike tomorrow, seeing that we won't be staying here another night…”, Keith gave back, starting to chuckle again at the implication that they needed to look for another hotel because they’d damaged the bed. 

“We’ll take care of this tomorrow, don't worry”, Mick returned, but couldn't stop himself from grinning. It simply was too hysterical. 

“Alright...now, let me clean you up a bit”, Keith proposed and reached for the facecloth he'd placed there earlier, soaking it with water. He started washing off Mick's back first, then his upper arms, before trailing around to his chest and belly. Mick was enjoying Keith's careful touches, closing his eyes and contently leaning into him while he ran the cloth over his abdomen. 

“Can we just stay here?”, he mumbled after some moments as Keith was done washing him and softly trailed his fingers over his chest in light circles, pressing little kisses to his neck every now and again. 

“The water is gonna get cold eventually”, Keith pointed out, though. 

“But it's warm now...and I'm so tired”, Mick sighed, leaning closer into Keith's embrace because he felt so comfortable. 

“I'll carry you back to bed”, Keith proposed before kissing his cheek lightly. 

Once they were all washed up, out of the tub and dried off, with their towels wrapped around their hips, Keith picked him up again bridal style, carrying him over to the still intact bed. There he put him down carefully before pulling his own towel off and lying down next to him. They were facing each other, legs entangled and Keith had an arm draped over Mick's ribs, his hand softly rubbing his back.

“You have no idea how handsome you are”, Mick quietly said after a while, smiling at him lovingly and trailing his fingers over his collarbone. He was quite exhausted and sleepy but he didn't want to turn the lights off yet. Then he wouldn't be able to see Keith anymore and he was such a beautiful sight. 

“Oh, I think I get an idea of it, cause the most gorgeous man I've ever laid eyes upon apparently thinks I'm fit enough to let me shag him”, Keith replied with a touch of humour. 

“Hmm...is that what you think?”, Mick inquired, only halfway joking. Of course he absolutely relished the sex they were having, it was like he was almost addicted to Keith and his body, he wouldn't even try to deny that. But he didn't only want to be with him because he was an amazingly great shag. He was so much more to him by now and he needed Keith to know that. 

“What?”, Keith asked as though he didn't get him. 

“That I just want you because you're the most handsome lad I know?”, Mick clarified. 

“Isn't it true?”, Keith said with a grin and Mick chuckled, before sobering up. 

“Well yeah, you definitely are...but you're also way more than that. You're actually amazing and such a wonderful person, Keith. You're caring, and a really talented musician, and quite funny...and you're so sweet to me all the time...also...I really do love you”, Mick admitted, feeling his cheeks grow warm but he kept smiling at him sweetly. 

It was the first time he'd told him that. They'd only really been together for a few short months yet and it all had been just fun and easy-going so far. But recently he'd realised that he actually cared about Keith so much more than he'd been aware of in the beginning. Even though they'd connected instantly, had totally hit it off right from the start. At home in London, they were going on dates whenever they could, but usually it only was once a week, maybe twice, because they didn't have much time due to their jobs. They also tried to stay over at each other's flat during most of the weekends, and then ended up spending great parts of them in bed. It was nice, carefree and simple, and Mick loved it. Usually he'd be completely alright with this, but with Keith it was different. With Keith, he wanted so much more than that, he wanted everything. He wanted this to last and not just to be another fling that went on for a couple more weeks or months before they got tired of each other, or figured they didn't fit together after all, or had some idiotic fight about some meaningless thing and then split up eventually with nothing left but some nice memories. 

He wanted to be there for Keith when he needed him and he wanted to be able to ring him up in the middle of the night if it needed be in case he was feeling shitty. Eventually, he wanted to come home to him after a long day at work, cook something together and talk, or just sit on the couch and watch some telly. He wanted to go on long walks through the park, go on random short trips to the countryside on the weekends, wanted to fall asleep next to him every single night. They didn't need to always jump right into bed together like they mostly did, even though they both greatly enjoyed that, of course. But he wanted the good and the bad and the wonderful and the ugly, all of it, because he knew Keith was special, he was worth it all. He desperately wanted him in his life because by now he was aware that he was completely in love with him.

“I don't know what to say”, Keith returned, sounding quite taken aback and also really flattered, but he was looking at him with a soft smile on his lips. Apparently he hadn't expected Mick's confession which slightly made him want to back-pedal, even though he'd absolutely meant what he said. 

“You don't have to say anything…”, Mick therefore started, trying to explain that he didn't need him to say it back right now, but Keith disrupted him. 

“You totally surprised me, is all...I love you, too, Mick”, he said, smiling and Mick was so incredibly relieved and amazed to hear him say this, that he laughed a little at Keith's prior astonishment. For a moment they were just gazing at each other lovingly, before Mick scooted closer until their lips collided in a gentle kiss. Keith reciprocating his declaration of love was everything he needed to hear to make him happier than he'd been in quite a while. It made him feel at ease and almost peaceful. 

“You're so beautiful”, Mick softly whispered, as they parted again, not only meaning Keith's appearance. 

“And you”, Keith returned, his thumb lightly brushing over Mick's cheek. “But let's try to get some sleep now. We'll probably be on the road for a while tomorrow”, he added and Mick nodded a little. 

“Sleep well, love”, he whispered, pecking Keith's lips.

“Nighty, baby”, Keith mumbled back before turning the lights off and then snuggling close to him again, wrapping an arm around him. Mick leaned into his touch, letting out a little content sigh, already feeling himself drifting off to sleep. 

 

Blinking his eyes open the next morning, Mick found himself closely spooning Keith, an arm wrapped around his chest and face pressed against his shoulder. Even though it wasn't exactly cool in the room, he enjoyed the heat radiating off of Keith's body, engulfing him in a comfortable warmth. He sighed happily and nuzzled his face against Keith's neck, hugging him a little closer, pressing small kisses to his skin. After a while, Keith started stirring awake, mumbling something incomprehensible, grabbing Mick's hand with his own to entwine their fingers. 

“Morning, love”, Mick murmured against his shoulder, spreading some more light kisses there.

“Morning”, Keith got out, his voice raspy from sleep and it made Mick grin a bit. They stayed cuddled up like that for a long while, enjoying each other's closeness in pleasant silence. Eventually, Mick started trailing a line of kisses from Keith's shoulder to the crook of his neck, then propped up a bit to lean further into him, kissing his cheek. Keith chuckled lightly, before turning his head, capturing Mick's lips with his own and engaging him in a lazy kiss. Mick kept kissing him back slowly, nudging Keith to turn around to face him, so he could wrap his arms around him and bring him closer. He ran a hand over Keith's bare chest and belly, until Keith grabbed his wrist, holding him in place. 

“You gotta stop this, baby”, Keith got out, breaking away from their kisses. 

“Why?”, Mick wanted to know almost innocently. 

“It tickles”, Keith just gave back, blushing a bit. 

“Hmm, sure”, Mick grinned. “You're not ticklish there”, he added, knowingly, and continued to trail little lines over his abdomen. 

“Baby…”, Keith sighed and Mick chuckled. 

“What is it?”, he wanted to know, suppressing his grin. He could clearly feel by now that Keith was pretty agitated. 

“Come on, you know...why do you always have to be such a tease?”

“Because you’re making it way too easy for me”, Mick replied, smirking, as Keith only grunted in frustration. 

“Do you want me to take you again, cause I can assure you, babe, then you won't be able to walk all day long”, Keith gave back and Mick chuckled. 

“Is that a threat or a promise?”, he wanted to know, suggestively. “But no, I don't want you to do anything now…”, he added, trailing his hand further down Keith's body. Mick was actually still quite sore and aching from the night before and knew it wouldn’t be a great idea to let Keith have him again if he wanted to be able to get out of bed this day and sit on the motorcycle. “Let me do something for you”, he meant, before kissing him again, as his fingers wandered to Keith’s crotch where he found him quite aroused. 

“Hmm, you're so hard for me already, baby”, Mick commented, mumbling into their kiss. “I love how you're feeling…”, he told him as he started lightly teasing him with his fingers and Keith pushed himself into his touch eagerly. But as Keith wanted to slide his own hand down to wrap it around Mick, he stopped him, shaking his head. 

“It's alright, love...don't worry, just let me”, he assured him with a smile, kissing him again lightly, before pushing Keith onto his back. “You enjoy”, he winked at him then, sitting between Keith's legs, leaning down to caress his chest and suck on his collarbone, as his hand was still stroking him softly. 

“You're so beautiful, my darling”, Mick murmured against his neck, starting to press small kisses there and a light moan escaped Keith's lips as Mick was circling his thumb around his tip. “You're feeling so amazing, you know that…”, Mick mumbled, enjoying it greatly to be able to elicit this reaction from Keith, who was pressing himself against Mick's hand now needily. 

“You want more, baby?”, he asked after a moment, his voice almost daring, as he kept up his gentle teasing. 

“Yeah...”, Keith only got out, not able to keep his excitement out of his voice, as he digged his fingers into Mick's back. 

“Good...cause I really want to taste you”, Mick smirked and Keith blushed a little, but still grinned back at him. 

“Then do...”, he returned somewhat challenging, his voice now raspy with desire. Mick pulled him into a heated kiss first, before he started trailing his mouth down Keith's jawline and throat, all over his chest, nibbling at his skin a little here and there as he was still fondling him. 

“Baby…”, Keith let out a groan while Mick was taking his time, just kissing the skin around his belly button. 

“Hmm...what is it, darling?”, he inquired, grinning up at him. 

“Just…”, Keith meant, not able to go on as a moan escaped his mouth because of what Mick was doing to him with his hand. 

“Just what?”, he smirked and Keith sighed almost frustratedly. 

“Can you...can you make me come, please?”, Keith actually asked, sounding a little flustered and it made Mick grin even wider. 

“Sure, love...if you're asking me like that”, he returned, smirking, but first went back to kissing his lower abdomen and his hip bones, teasing Keith a little while longer. Then finally, as Keith already started arching his back in demand, he slid a little further down. And for a moment, he couldn't do else but look at Keith's arousal, licking his lips because it was quite an enticing sight. “You have no idea how gorgeous you are…”, he murmured, before eventually dipping his head down, kissing the sensitive skin at his tip and running his tongue over him, making Keith moan loudly. As he finally took him into his mouth, Keith bucked up his hips and grabbed a handful of Mick's hair, pulling him closer. 

Mick was enjoying it greatly to caress Keith like this, making him sigh with pleasure and feeling him get all hot and riled up, pushing himself further into his mouth. Keith tried to pull him ever closer in demand, moaning excitedly as Mick kept working his mouth and tongue on him. He could sense from the way Keith was starting to rock and tremble underneath him, and his quickening breath, that it wouldn't take him too long anymore. It was an amazing feeling to finally make him finish off, and Keith cried out in passion, digging his hands into Mick's hair, shaking and breathing heavily as he came. Mick didn't mind actually swallowing it all up, while holding Keith in place by his hips, waiting until he stopped bucking and trembling. Then he pressed some short kisses to the insides of Keith's thighs before re-emerging at his side, licking his lips almost contently. 

“Tasting just as fine as you feel”, he winked at him, making Keith blush visibly, before kissing him softly. He then wrapped his arms around him and bedded his head onto Keith's chest who let out a pleased sigh. Mick happily nuzzled his head against him, glad that Keith seemed satisfied. 

“What about you?”, Keith wanted to know after a moment and Mick smiled against his skin, thinking it rather sweet of him being this considerate. 

“Why, you wanna taste me too?”, he taunted him, but was quick to add in a soft voice: ”I'm fine, darling, this was all about making you feel good.” And he lifted his head up to press a sweet kiss to his lips, running a hand through Keith’s hair lovingly. 

“But if you want to, then maybe we can get back to this tonight”, he meant with a wink and Keith only returned a toothy grin. 

 

They stayed cuddled up in bed for another while, until Mick decided that the weather outside looked way too nicely to waste the day like this. So he sat up and stretched his back and arms, before hopping out of bed and putting on his underpants. Then he went over to the window, opening it completely. It already was quite warm outside, the view upon the sandy beach and the sound of the waves rolling ashore was really beautiful. Keith stepped up behind him in the next moment, wrapping his arms around his chest, pressing a kiss to his neck. 

“It's beautiful”, Keith said, apparently having the same thought and Mick only nodded with a smile. 

“Let's get ready to leave, so we can actually get outside and see something”, he meant then, stepping out of Keith's grip to turn around and examine the damage they'd done to one of the beds the night before. 

“You think they’re gonna make us pay for that?”, Keith wondered, but not able to keep a chuckle out of his voice. 

“It already was squeaking when we first laid down on it...so technically this isn’t all on us”, Mick mused, grinning. “We could just try to put it back together”, he added then, already getting to work and Keith joined to help him. 

As they'd pushed and put the parts of the bed together again, as good as they could, there was no apparent hint left of what had happened to it. 

“Looks as good as new”, Keith commented and Mick snorted. 

“Guess we should let them know that it probably isn't safe to use anymore…”, he mused then. “Not that whoever occupies this room next will be faced with the same problem”, he added, chuckling. 

Once they were washed and dressed, they started packing their things together but decided to still leave them in their room and get them later in order to go exploring the city some more. First on their to do list was finding some nice place to get breakfast. With all the little bistros and bars this wasn’t a tough undertaking and soon they spotted a lovely little cafè with a menu that promised some amazing food. 

While Mick went with some croissants and different kinds of homemade jams, Keith ordered eclairs and french rolls and they both tried some macarons as well. 

“These are so adorable”, Mick pointed out a pink macaron, filled with strawberry jam and Keith laughed lightly. 

“You're adorable too”, he said then, looking at him affectionately and made Mick smile in return. 

“What are we doing today? Are we staying around here at the coast for another while?”, Mick inquired as they'd almost finished their breakfast.

“What else would you want to do?”, Keith asked in return and Mick shrugged, a chuckle escaping his mouth. 

“We probably should have planned this a little more thoroughly”, he meant but Keith just shrugged as well. 

“Why, it's more of an adventure like that, isn't it?”, he gave back and it made Mick smile. 

It truly was the least well-organised trip he'd ever went on, seeing that they had no real plan where they'd be next or where they'd find a place to stay the night. Just to be safe, they'd even taken along a small two men tent, in case they couldn't find an inn. However, he didn't really worry too much about that, because he knew that as long as he was with Keith, he'd be fine. And even though within just one day Keith had gotten sea-sick and they'd managed to break a bed, it still was amazingly great so far. He simply enjoyed being able to spend this much time with Keith and was excited for everything more this holiday trip would have to offer to them. 

By the time they finished their breakfast and paid, they still hadn't really decided what to do or where to go next, but it wasn't like it was important or they desperately needed to be somewhere. So for the moment, they ended up strolling along the seafront, relishing the amazing weather and the beach flair. They passed various small restaurants and shops until Keith suddenly stopped in front of one that sold souvenirs. 

“You want to go inside?”, Mick asked him as Keith was just examining some postcards, curiously taking one of them to inspect it closer. 

“Mont Saint Michel”, he read the print on the card, showing an island with some kind of a castle or church on it. Having heard about it before, Mick knew it was an old abbey of some monastery built in the medieval times. “This looks pretty nice...is it somewhere around here?”, Keith wanted to know. 

“Not quite sure...I think it's a few hours away. But we could check the map once we're back at the hotel and get our things?”, Mick mused and Keith nodded eagerly. 

“Do you want to go there?, he asked then, looking from Keith to the motive on the postcard and back again. 

“Have you been yet?”

“No, but it really looks nice”, Mick gave back.

“So...let's drive there today?”, Keith suggested sounding a little excited about the prospect. 

“Sure, let's”, Mick agreed and Keith gave him a wide smile. 

When back at the hotel and looking at the map they had stuffed in one of their bags, they figured out that it probably would take them about three hours to drive from le Havre to le Mont Saint Michel. 

“Are you good to ride on the bike for that long?”, Keith questioned, giving him a meaningful look, not able to hide a somewhat abashed grin. 

“It's okay, I'll be fine”, Mick said, not without blushing a tad. He was still feeling a bit sore but he wasn’t hurting, surely he’d be alright. 

As they'd packed up all of their belongings, they went downstairs to pay. Mick also informed the woman at the welcome desk about the poor state of one of the beds while trying really hard to keep a straight face, as Keith next to him looked as if he might burst out into laughter even though he didn't understand a word of French. 

“You know, you should teach me”, Keith meant as they finally left the inn and walked over to where they'd parked the chopper. 

“What? How to not laugh your arse off while telling someone you might have broken one of their beds because your boyfriend shagged you that well?”, Mick inquired and Keith lightly pushed him. 

“No, French, I meant”, he replied with a chuckle.

"Bien sûre, chéri", Mick returned, grinning giddily. So far he'd only told Keith some basics but this surely would be fun. "What do you want to know?", he added as they were strapping the bags back onto the motorcycle, getting ready to leave. 

"Just tell me something...I like to listen to you speaking French", Keith meant, giving him a little smile that Mick mirrored. 

"Je t'aime", he simply said, looking at him gently, because he knew that Keith knew what it meant. And now that he'd told him so before in English, it didn't even feel odd or awkward. On the contrary, it was beautiful because he was fully aware of his feelings for Keith and he truly meant it. 

"How do you say it back?", Keith quietly asked, still with that little smile on his face.

"Just add 'aussi'", Mick explained as he slowly entwined their fingers on top of the saddle bag, without taking his eyes off Keith's. 

"Je t'aime aussi?", he returned his brows raised in question at the foreign language and it made Mick grin. But he nodded in agreement and Keith lightly pressed his hand. 

"Now you already know the most important thing", Mick chuckled and Keith only winked at him. 

"Well, you're being such a great teacher", Keith replied jokingly, before letting go of his hand to give him a helmet. 

"I sure hope so. How about we get on the road and continue this French lesson later?", he suggested then and Keith agreed. After putting their helmets on, they got on the chopper and went on their way, leaving the beach of Le Havre.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys :)  
> Thanks you so so much for reading and commenting, seriously, this always makes my day knowing you guys actually wanna read this story and are interested in what I'm delivering here :)
> 
> the second part of this chapter is some kind of set up for a bit of a conflict that will arise later and will further reveal Keith's backstory. But this will only come out in chapter 6, so until then, enjoy the cuteness of that chapter here, have fun reading!

Le-Mont-Saint-Michel was just a small town at the Atlantic coast but it definitely seemed to be a well-liked place for tourists considering how busy it was on the streets and at the beach. Obviously, the island with the medieval abbey was the main attraction and the reason for most of the visitors coming there. 

They'd reached the town later than anticipated, after making a long stop on their route in some little pittoresque village. There they'd found a tiny old bistro serving the most delicious quiche Lorraine that Mick had ever tasted. The patrons of the restaurant, an elderly couple, were amazingly hospitable and funny and they talked them into trying some of their self-made red wine. Keith only had a sip, since he needed to drive, but Mick didn't pass up on actually purchasing a bottle of the wonderfully sweet tasting liquor so that he could share it with Keith at another time. 

"Are we staying here for the night?", Mick mused once they'd parked the chopper near the beach. There was a road leading from the mainland over to the island, but only pedestrians and cyclists were allowed to take it, so they'd have to walk. Which was nicer anyway, like this they could take in their surroundings more closely. And it only was about half a mile, according to the information tables that were put up everywhere. 

"Do you think we'll find a place that still has vacant rooms? It looks really over-crowded around here", Keith gave back and Mick had to agree. It probably would be a challenge finding a free room and then it might be quite expensive. 

"We could give it a try and look around for a while. Or we could just find some place to stash our baggage and then walk over to the island…", Mick thought out aloud. There were some lockers at the beach for the bathers' possessions, they could easily rent a few of these for some hours and deposit all of their things there. 

"And then go back on our way and find a place to stay the night elsewhere?", Keith suggested and Mick nodded eagerly in agreement. 

"Yeah, sounds like a plan!" 

After putting all of their baggage into three separate lockers and just keeping Mick's camera and some bottled water in a backpack and shoes in their hands, they went for a stroll along the beach. Currently there was low tide so the water had withdrawn from the shore and the sand and mudflat seemed endless. It was pretty fun wading the tideland and getting ever closer to the island. 

"Let's take a photo together", Mick proposed as they already were quite close to the island and pulled out his camera. Then he tried to snap a picture of himself and Keith standing in front of the beautiful scenery, as Keith had an arm draped around his shoulder and they both were grinning into the camera. 

"Hopefully you didn't cut off our heads", Keith commented with a chuckle and Mick lightly punched his arm. 

"I know what I'm doing, babe. I've been photographing long enough", Mick gave back. "Sometimes when writing articles about the theatre, I also get to take pictures…", he explained. 

"Yeah but you don't take one of yourself in front of the stage usually, do you?", Keith inquired jokingly and Mick only rolled his eyes. 

"Next time you can ask somebody to take a picture of us", Mick suggested with a grin, making Keith snort. 

"I guess you'll have to do that because the majority of people here is speaking French", he reminded him and Mick had to laugh at that.

"Well, you wanted me to teach you anyway", he deadpanned as they continued their walk through the tideland towards the island. 

"Then how would I ask someone in French to please take a picture of us?", Keith wanted to know, looking at him curiously. 

"Pourriez-vous prendre un photo de nous, s'il vous plaît?", Mick returned, not even having to think about it since he'd used this phrase before. 

"Pour what?", Keith said, a bit baffled by so many new foreign words. 

Mick repeated the sentence a little slower and now Keith could pick up on it more easily, before trying it out himself. 

"Like that?"

"Yeah, like that", Mick gave back, smiling. Since he really liked the language himself, he found it endearing that Keith actually was interested enough and asked him to help him learn some French. 

"What else do I have to know in French? Oh, I know, tell me some swear words!", Keith meant, a silly grin spreading on his face and Mick had to chuckle. 

"Why does everyone always want to learn the swear words first?"

"Because it's fun", Keith simply replied, still smirking. 

"Fine...how about...le zozo, le cornichon, le gogo", Mick offered, chuckling. 

"What does it mean?"

"All nice words to describe an idiot…", he explained. 

"It's hilarious...gogo...isn't that a dance?", Keith inquired and Mick had to laugh about it.

"Ah, I believe so", Mick mused. "What also is a nice expression is va te faire foutre, same as piss off...then of course the classics like merde, poutine, or fils de pute…", he added, chuckling, as he then went on to tell Keith the translations. 

"Well, I guess NOW I know the basics", Keith commented with a laugh, as they eventually reached the island with its medieval abbey and decided that this French lesson was more than enough for the moment. And also an antique, dignified abbey where monks used to live really wasn't the place to throw around insults. 

For a while they strolled around on the island, taking in the sight of the historic buildings and the view over to the mainland. While they were exploring their surroundings, the water slowly started rising again with the tide coming in. This meant that on their way back over to the small town they couldn't walk in the mudflat anymore but would have to take the road back. Since there wasn't too much to see on the island, they quickly were done with their sightseeing, but still stayed there for a bit, just leaning on the stone walls, looking out onto the ocean. 

"Do you want to go swimming once we're at the shore again and the water's back?", Keith suggested after they'd just been standing there for some quiet moments, enjoying the view. 

"It's too over-crowded around here for my taste", he meant, pointing at all the many people bustling about. 

"Then let's ride along the coast for a bit, see if we can find some lonely beach?", Keith returned and Mick had to admit that this idea sounded way better than lying around with hundreds of people in a way too small space. 

"I'd like that", he said, giving Keith a sweet little smile. 

Once they'd returned to the mainland, the tide kept on rising and many people who'd been tanning at the beach, now were seeking out the cool refreshment of the Atlantic Ocean. Mick and Keith, however, removed their belongings from the lockers and packed them back onto the motorcycle. Then Keith revved the engine and off they went on their search for a more peaceful place. 

They didn't even have to drive ten miles out of town, before they spotted some small bay from the coastal road. It lay hidden behind some trees and bushes, surrounded by rocks. Keith steered his chopper off the road and then parked it behind one of the bushes, taking off his helmet. Mick did the same, getting off of the bike, taking in his surroundings.

"'s that rather what you were looking for?", Keith asked, getting off the motorcycle as well and stepping next to him. 

This little place they'd found seemed truly beautiful, with azure blue water and not a single other soul in sight. 

"It's amazing", Mick simply commented. "Come on, let's finally go swimming!", he added giddily and already pulled his t-shirt over his head. 

Keith gave him a grin, but mirrored his actions, and pretty soon they had stripped off all of their clothes. They didn't even care about putting on their bathing trunks since they were the only ones around and ran down the beach towards the water without even thinking further of it. 

"It's cold, why is it always so cold…", Keith jokingly complained as he only dipped in his feet first while Mick already was halfway submerged by the water. 

"Cause it's the Atlantic, baby", he replied with a chuckle. "Come on, it's not cold once you're in and moving!", he encouraged him and like this Keith joined him for a swim. 

In the end they were only swimming for a little while until Keith started fooling around, splashing water at each other until they were playfully wrestling. 

"You're such a jerk, darling", Mick complained, after Keith had successfully managed to push him under water for a few seconds. 

"Nah, I'm not", Keith answered, winking at him and Mick shoved him away a bit. "Don't be like that, baby", he added, making his best puppy face in order to make Mick go soft at him again. 

"Be glad you're that handsome…", Mick huffed and Keith grinned at that.

"Or what?", he almost dared him. 

"I'd fight you." 

"You wouldn't", Keith laughed and Mick shot a glare at him. 

"You're right, I won't...but just because I'd rather sunbath now", Mick eventually gave in, but didn't stop from splashing some more water into Keith's face before wading towards the shore. 

As they'd dried themselves off, they put their towels onto the warm sand in order to lie down. At first they were both lazily lying on their stomachs, heads bedded on their crossed arms. It was easy to slightly doze off because of the warmth and the sound of the waves lightly crashing onto the shore. 

After a while it got a little too hot in the burning sun, though and Mick suggested to move their things over into the shadow of some trees in order to avoid getting a sunburn. There they also took some gulps from their water bottles and Keith pulled out a pack of biscuits from one of the bags. Like that they were lying around, eating custard cream biscuits while they'd also placed a road map in front of them, trying to decide which route to head next. 

"We could take one of these smaller routes through that nature park there…", Keith proposed, drawing a line along the map with his index finger. 

"Then we'd get to Versailles first before Paris?", Mick clarified, taking a closer look. 

"Yeah it seems so", Keith mused. 

"Okay, let's do that. Probably like this we'll see some more beautiful landscapes", he agreed. 

"They don't say for nothing that the journey's the reward", Keith said, the grin in his voice clearly audible. 

"Being with you the whole time is the reward, baby", Mick gave back, winking at him and Keith returned a loving smile.

"How about another French lesson?", he asked then. 

"What about this time?", Mick wanted to know, turning onto his side because his position had started to get uncomfortable. 

"Hmm, what about calling it 'How to tell my sweet boyfriend that he's really beautiful?'", Keith said and actually blushed a little. Mick obviously got somewhat flattered as well and thought Keith was being quite adorable. 

"Tu es beau, mon chèr", he softly said, brushing his hand over Keith's cheek gently as Keith repeated his words. 

"Are you gonna tell me some pet words now?", Keith inquired, smiling widely. 

"Si tu veux, mamour", he replied, grinning. 

"What did you say?"

"If you'd like to, love", Mick translated for him and Keith chuckled. 

"What does darling mean?"

"Mon chèr."

"And baby?", Keith wanted to know next. 

"Mon bébé...well it's rather my babe...another one that's nice is doudou", Mick explained, telling him one of his favourite French pet words, simply because it sounded both funny and sweet. 

"It's adorable, how do you translate it?", Keith meant.

"Cuddly thing", he gave back, laughing lightly. 

"It's cute...doudou", Keith replied, laughing as well. 

"I'm gonna call you that now, doudou. Cause you're so nice and cuddly", Mick laughed, scooting over a little in order to be closer to Keith and wrapped his arms around him. He nuzzled his face against Keith's hair before pressing a soft kiss to his neck. 

"Doudou", he whispered against his skin spreading some more kisses on Keith's jawline and cheek. 

"Tu es beau, mamour", Keith said softly and Mick actually felt quite proud of him for how fast he'd picked up on the pronunciation. 

"How do you say I really want to kiss you?"

"Je veux vraiment t'embrasser." 

"Je veux vraiment t'embrasser, mon chèr", Keith repeated after him before cupping Mick's cheeks to pull him towards him until their lips met. 

Mick smiled into their kiss, returning it gently. Keith tasted like seasalt and the sweet biscuits they'd eaten and it was quite the amazing mix. This man managed to make his heart skip a beat but at the same time, even though they were somewhere in Normandy, far away from London, he made him feel like home. Wherever Keith was, is where Mick wanted to be. 

 

It took them two days to reach Paris. Not because it was that far of a distance but rather because of all the stops they had made along the way. That day they visited le Mont Saint Michel, they'd found a nice inn in some coastal village not far from that bay they'd spent hours all by themselves without seeing another soul. Well rested, they'd went on their way east directed towards Paris the next morning. But not before going for a morning swim in the Atlantic. 

The route to Paris had taken them through three different nature parks and in all of them there was a lot to see that had warranted stops every now and again. They'd found an amazing place somewhere off the main roads, with a little stream of crystal clear water and beautiful nature all around. Because they liked it so much and they hadn't seen anybody else around for miles, they had decided to pop up their tent and stay there for the night. 

Somewhen around noon on the next day, they'd finally reached Versailles at the outskirts of Paris. There they'd made an obligatory stop in order to pay a visit to the famous castle. Mick had been there before and seen it, even did the tour. But he gladly went there again and did some sightseeing for the second time, not just because Keith hadn't been there before, but because it was extraordinary and breathtaking. And he had even spotted some new things that he hadn't noticed the first time around. 

After their stop at Versailles, they'd decided that there was no way they'd explore Paris by motorcycle. It simply was too huge and too confusing to drive around there without getting lost. So they'd ended up looking for some place to stay in the suburbs. They had to search for a while to find an area that didn't look too shabby and where there were actual hotels that seemed quite nice, but eventually they found a family run place in a quite beautiful neighbourhood that still had some free rooms. 

"They asked me whether we wanted two rooms because they only have French beds", Mick quietly told Keith as he came back with their room key and they went over to the tiny lift that would bring them up to the second floor. Keith snorted in return and Mick gave him a grin. 

"What did you reply?", he wanted to know as they stepped onto the lift with their luggage and immediately it felt like they stood packed together like sardines in a can. 

"That we don't need another room and we don't mind the French bed at all", Mick answered, winking at him. "Then she gave me a quite outraged look", he added and Keith snorted once more. 

"As long as it doesn't break this time, I'm alright", he gave back with a smirk and it made Mick chuckle. 

"And as long as it's more comfortable than the tent last night…", Mick meant and Keith only rolled his eyes.

"Don't be such a princess, it was nice and cozy", he said, just as the lift arrived at the second floor and they stepped off in search of their room. It was just three doors down the floor. 

"The only reason it was nice was because I could use you as a pillow, doudou. But my back is still hurting", Mick sighed as they'd stepped into their room, putting down their luggage. There was indeed a French bed and all the interior looked a bit outdated but at least everything seemed nice and clean. 

"Do you want me to give you a massage?", Keith suggested, sitting down on one side of the bed and then let himself fall onto his back, stretching his arms above his head. 

"By massage do you mean a massage, or…?", Mick inquired, eyebrow raised, a little smirk on his face as he remembered the conversation they'd had on the beach the other day about the massaging and the oil. 

"What else would I mean?", Keith propped himself up on one arm and grinned at him knowingly, apparently remembering as well. 

"Oh, you know, babe", Mick started, lying down beside him, head leaned on his hand. "Just you using your massaging skills to seduce me...", he added and couldn't keep a hint of suggestiveness out of his voice, even though he was kidding around. 

"Well, depends on what you want?", Keith gave back, surprising him a little. 

"Why, what do you want?", he asked back, somewhat irritated because this obviously wasn't just about him and what he wanted. 

"If you don't mind...I don't want to...I mean, I'd love to give you that massage if you like, but we don't have to shag tonight, baby...", Keith returned, sounding almost shy at the confession. 

"Why, of course we don't...though we didn't since we broke that bed...", he gave back, not accusing, however, just observing. He didn't mind it in the slightest, after all they'd done a few other quite worthwhile things in the meantime. It didn't matter what they were doing, as long as they could only spend time with each other and be happy together, then everything was perfect. Even just laying around in bed for hours, exchanging some fond words while huddled up closely, still would be amazingly great and enjoyable. 

"I don't want you to feel that this has to be something we are required to do every so often just because we are together. I just want to be with you and spend time with you because I love you, Keith. We don't have to shag if you're not up for it, just because you think I want to. I don't want you if you don't want me too, baby", Mick clarified, cupping Keith's cheek with his hand, lightly running his thumb over it and Keith seemingly relaxed at his words. 

He didn't want him to think that all he wanted from him was always jumping into bed with him. Actually he'd thought that he had established that before, when he first told Keith that he loved him a few days ago. But apparently Keith still felt that Mick only wanted to have some fun and wasn't in this for the long run. Even though he definitely was, and he got more and more persuaded of it the longer he was on this trip with Keith. They were more than amazing together and Mick couldn't get enough of this. The small things, like being able to fall asleep with Keith, or waking up next to him every day, not just once or twice a week, if they were lucky and had the time. Or talking about random stuff for hours, not just over lunch break or for twenty minutes on the phone. He wanted more of this, all of it, always. And he needed Keith to want it as well, because he didn't have the slightest clue how he could handle it if Keith didn't want him as badly and didn't love him as much as Mick did.

"I would never want to do anything that you don't want to do, you know that, right?", he added quietly, focusing his eyes on Keith's, looking at him earnestly, remembering that he'd assured him so a few weeks before already. 

They'd been at Keith's place back then, after they'd went to a pub to see some new band play. And because he'd been in the mood for it, he'd asked Keith, if for a change he wanted Mick to take him that night, but Keith had declined, saying he didn't fancy it. Mick had been a little irritated at first, but he'd obviously went along with it and told him it's alright and they didn't have to switch. That they should just do it like they both enjoyed it the most, which actually was Keith taking the lead. Mick didn't mind it at all, on the contrary, he totally loved it like that and couldn't get enough of it. Even though he truly was curious to figure out how it would feel like to have Keith. Maybe he could bring it up again eventually, and maybe then Keith would give him another answer. 

"But would you fancy a shag now?", Keith still prompted him and he sighed. Of course he would love to sleep with him, he always did enjoy it more than he could describe with bare words, Keith was one hell of an amazingly great lover. But he didn't want it if Keith didn't either and also he felt somewhat exhausted from their travelling around. 

"I'm tired, actually…", he then admitted honestly. It had been a long couple of days and they totally could need some rest. Stay in Paris for a few days, like they'd planned to do anyway, just in order to not be on the road all the time. 

"I'm really bloody tired too, baby...I'm sorry", Keith returned and sounded quite bummed, but Mick didn't want him to be. 

"Don't be...I told you it's alright, love, it's totally fine", he assured him, pecking his lips lightly. 

"I'm actually feeling a little dizzy right now, Mick…", Keith then acknowledged, shifting away a bit in order to run a hand over his face. 

"Are you okay, darling?", Mick immediately wanted to know, not without a touch of concern in his voice. 

"Probably I didn't drink enough, it was pretty hot today...", Keith offered in return, rolling onto his back, placing a hand over his eyes. 

"Wait, I'll get you something, baby", he meant, pressing Keith's arm lightly before getting up and walking over to the bathroom. There, he turned up the tab, waiting until the water was cold enough and then filled some into one of the plastic cups standing around. 

"Here, take that", he said as he returned to the bedroom, sitting down next to Keith and holding the cup out for him to take it. 

"Thanks", Keith said after taking a few gulps, giving him a little smile that Mick gladly returned. 

"Are you hungry?", Mick asked, trailing his fingers softly over Keith's arm. 

"Yeah...but I'm also exhausted…", Keith admitted and he actually sounded it. 

"So, let's look for a nearby place to get some dinner and then go to sleep?", Mick suggested, an encouraging smile on his lips.  
"You need to eat something, baby. Or do you want me to go outside and grab us a bite?" 

"No, I want to come with you. But maybe let's get some takeaway?"

"Sure, we can do that", Mick smiled, holding his hand out for Keith in order to pull him up. Once on their feet, they only grabbed their wallets and the room keys before leaving the hotel on their quest for something edible. 

They didn't even have to walk far, only a few houses down the road there were some bistros and diners. Eventually, they settled on some baguette sandwiches because it seemed the fastest option and they also didn't even look bad. The area around the hotel seemed quite alright, just pretty much influenced by tourist. But they didn't go exploring around, there would be more than enough time for it over the next few days. By the time they arrived back at their room, they'd already finished eating their sandwiches. 

"Are you feeling any better now?", Mick wanted to know and Keith nodded lightly. "Do you want to take a quick shower with me before we sleep?", he added then and Keith also agreed to this. 

The shower cabin was tiny, they only both fit inside when getting a little cozy, Mick almost hugging Keith from behind. Obviously neither of them did mind, though. Mick just started carefully washing off Keith's back, before Keith returned the favour and they both really enjoyed the other's caring touches. Once they were all nice and clean, they still stayed under the warm water in a gentle embrace, just holding each other close. This was a whole other kind of intimacy that had nothing to do with the want and desire that came with sex. Mick loved sleeping with Keith, he loved being taken by him, loved everything about it. This, however, just holding him so closely that he could feel Keith's heart beat against his own chest, Keith's breathing and the heat of his body, sensible even despite the warm water lightly pouring down on them, this was something entirely else. Something as close to intimate and almost even more wonderful than making love. They could be completely comfortable, completely vulnerable around each other like this and it was utterly beautiful. 

Mick lightly ran his hands over Keith's back in small circles for a long while, before he started pressing soft kisses to his neck and shoulder every now and again. After a moment, Keith put his hand on Mick's cheek to turn his head towards him and captured his lips with his own in a tender kiss, which almost made Mick's heart skip a beat. They kept kissing lovingly for some moments, until Mick brought his arm up to pull Keith closer by his neck and in doing so, hit it against the shower tap, turning the water off. It resulted in them breaking apart, chuckling a little. 

"This was too nice to last…", Mick commented jokingly and Keith only smirked about it.

"We should get dried off and into bed, baby", he meant and Mick nodded in agreement, before they finally got out of the way too tiny shower cabin.

"You can still have that massage if you want?", Keith said, as they were dry and in only their underpants, it rather sounded like a question. 

"Thanks, love, you're the best really. But you should get some rest, we both do", Mick returned with a sweet smile, as he flopped down onto the bed and Keith joined him. His back wasn't doing that bad, not after the nice warm shower they'd just had and the bed wasn't too hard. Mainly he just wanted Keith to relax, seeing that he was pretty exhausted and if he hadn't been quite groggy himself, then he would have given a massage to Keith instead. 

Keith looked at him affectionately, as they were lying on their sides, facing each other, the blanket lightly draped over their bodies. Mick could see that he was obviously tired, just like he was himself. Yet, neither of them showed any intention to switch the light off and Mick wondered whether Keith didn't prompt him to because he also wanted to stay like this for some more moments. Simply looking at each other, taking in the other's features, almost in awe of how perfect this was. Mick gently ran his index finger along the lines of Keith's lips, while his eyes wandered down from Keith's own to his mouth and then back again. 

"You're so handsome, doudou...and I'm so much in love with you", Mick softly whispered, resting his hand against Keith's cheek, sensing how he leaned into his touch contently. 

He'd been with a few people before, girls and guys, and most of the time it had been fun and great and really amazing. But none of these people had made him feel the way Keith did, that he'd made him feel since the first time they met. Like they belonged together, there was something that actually pulled them together almost like magnets, and that he couldn't live without him in his life anymore. This both excited and scared him beyond belief. He wanted to be with Keith, always, wanted to live with him, grow old with him, he was absolutely sure of this. But they'd only been together for such a short time, they'd met only about three months ago, and it freaked him out to feel all of this, because so far, he hadn't exactly been well-known for leading long-lasting relationships. Eventually it had always fucked up, one way or the other. With Keith, he couldn't let this happen, because he already meant so much to him and he was afraid of how he'd ever get over him. But right now, he didn't want to think about any of these things, he didn't want to ruin that moment. So he just gave Keith a cute smile. 

"Je t'adore", Keith said in return, a little smile tugging at his lips, as he observed Mick's astonishment about him saying something to him in French that he hadn't taught him before.

"Where did you get this from?", he curiously wanted to know. 

"While you got us the room keyes I asked some girl who was also waiting in the lobby…" 

"What did you tell her?"

"Oh, just that I wanted to go nightclubbing and meet some French girls", Keith explained with a lopsided grin and Mick had to chuckle. 

"You're so sweet, baby", Mick smiled, but then had to stifle a yawn. "And I think we really should be sleeping now", he added and Keith only nodded.

"Sleep well, babe", Keith meant, before finally turning off the light. 

"And you, doudou", he replied with a little grin, as Keith pecked his lips and then draped an arm over him, as Mick cuddled up to him even closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> French translation:  
> Tu es beau, mon chèr = you're beautiful, my darling  
> I think for everything else I included the translation in the story already :D 
> 
> also if you think that this might be some of the sappiest stuff I've ever written, then you might be just about right xD


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> as always, thank you so so much for reading/liking/commenting I really love you all so much for this you cannot even imagine what this means to me...I'm just having such a hard time irl with some personal stuff and writing about Mick and Keith always makes me feel better...  
> and then I was just told by someone I considered a friend that writing these stories is bad and wrong and I shouldn't be doing it and it made me feel so sad because I don't think there's anything wrong with it especially not if it makes me feel better and I really hope that reading my stories is making you feel good as well and yeah...enjoy this chapter!

"Wow, and this is what everybody is making such a fuss about? It's so small!", Keith commented incredulously as Mick only rolled his eyes at him.

"Don't be such a philistine", he meant, but suppressing a grin as they were standing in the Louvre, in front of the Mona Lisa. Dozens of other people around them had also come there to do the same. Mick had been there before twice but he still thought it was amazing to see all of these pieces of art that you usually only heard about, live and in person. Obviously a lot of the visitors mostly cared about seeing the Mona Lisa, and maybe also la Liberté by Delacroix, but he thought that there was quite some interesting art exhibited there that also was definitely worth a visit. 

So once they'd had enough of staring at Mona Lisa's mysterious smile, they decided to rather check out what the other rooms had to offer. They came across paintings by Vermeer and Rembrandt, Raffael and Michelangelo, before ending up in a room with roman and greek statues. 

"I think I like the paintings more…", Keith meant after they'd looked at the statues for a while. 

"Why that?", Mick wanted to know.

"Cause these are boring...and they are broken, look she lost her leg, and that one over there doesn't even have a head", he meant and Mick ended up grinning. 

"They're quite old, you have to consider that", Mick returned with a chuckle. "Also sometimes they were destroyed on purpose."

"I know, but they're creeping me out", Keith said and Mick had to stifle a laugh. He absolutely loved that Keith was fooling around like that, giving his unfiltered comments to everything they were examining. Visiting a museum with Keith definitely wasn't boring in the slightest but was an attraction in itself. 

"Alright, so how about we rather take a look at the French crown jewels instead?", Mick suggested then and Keith eagerly agreed. 

Once they had enough of the fine arts for one day, they left the museum and decided to take a walk along the Seine towards the Île de la Cité to see Notre Dame. It was an amazingly beautiful day and the river bank was full of tourists who apparently all had the same idea as them. On the river, there were dozens of little boats, some locals going on a fun trip, or mostly people doing some sightseeing. There were also some gondolas like they had them in Venice, transporting happy, enamoured couples. They'd as well already spotted more than just one bridal pair excitedly taking their wedding pictures and others who were getting engaged in the city of love. 

"Do you wanna get married?", Mick couldn't stop himself from asking Keith, as they'd just observed yet another guy proposing to his girlfriend on one of these gondolas on the Seine. 

"What?", Keith replied, incredulously, staring at him as if he'd lost his mind. Only then did he realise that maybe Keith had misunderstood his intention. 

"Noo, I didn't mean...I didn't...this wasn't a proposal", he all but stammered, feeling his cheeks grow hot in embarrassment. That definitely hadn't supposed to be a proposal. 

"I may hope not, cause otherwise it might have been the worst I've ever seen", Keith returned in a joking manner and Mick averted his gaze, abashed. If he'd wanted to ask Keith to marry him, then certainly not like this, and not now, it was neither the right time nor the right place, it was way too soon. 

"I just...I meant in general. Do you...uhm...what do you think about marriage?", he deflected, rephrasing his original question. 

"I think...with the right person it...it surely could be quite amazing. Like...knowing you love and trust somebody that much that you're sure you wanna spend the rest of your lives together. But I don't think you need some piece of paper to prove that…", Keith replied thoughtfully and Mick quite liked this answer because he mostly agreed with it. 

"What do you think about it?", Keith wanted to know then, curiously looking at him. 

"Pretty much the same, actually. I just...you know, I'd love to get married to someone that I cannot imagine myself living without...but the thing is...uh...it's not exactly legal", he meant with a sigh, stuffing his hands into his pockets. 

"But you like girls too", Keith interjected. 

"But I'm with you, Keith", he replied, giving him a disbelieving look. Why would Keith even bring up this option? It wasn't like Mick intended to leave him once he saw the next best woman. 

"I thought we were talking hypothetically", Keith explained and Mick only shrugged. 

"We are, but...I don't want to imagine some hypothetical girl to potentially get married to when I'm with you. I want you, I love you. And if it was legal, I'd love to eventually get married…", he tried to make clear to him, all the while trying to keep his voice low for only Keith to understand. 

Mick also was desperately trying to suppress this awful voice that had snuck into his mind. It tried telling him that even despite everything he'd said to Keith during the past days, for some reason he still might be assuming that what they were having was nothing more than just a nice fling. 

"Wow...that...I honestly don't know what to tell you right now, Mick", Keith returned, he actually sounded quite baffled by his words. 

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to freak you out. I didn't mean we should get married right away, or...or even anytime soon, I just...I mean it was hypothetical, wasn't it? What else did you expect me to say: yeah, babe, of course I wanna find some girl and rather be with her instead?", he almost ended up talking himself into trouble and decided to rather shut up than to make things even more awkward. 

"It doesn't matter", was all that Keith offered in reply, though and Mick wasn't sure whether to be happy about his indifference, or worried.

"Keith, I know I shouldn't have said that, we haven't been together for that long…", Mick tried to limit the damage. 

"No...look, even if we...it doesn't matter, Mick. It's hypothetical, but even if it wasn't, it would still not be possible, right?", Keith disrupted him, he sounded calm and Mick was relieved that he didn't seem mad at him. 

"Yeah...I'm sorry. It was stupid...just forget about it...", he eventually meant, biting his lip. He hadn't intended for it to end up like this. Some idiotic, harmless question provoquing this unease between them. 

"Look, we're almost there!", Keith finally changed the subject and pointed at the famous cathedral that was rising up only a few hundred metres in front of them. Mick didn't know whether to be glad or disappointed about it. But he settled for the former for now and stripped of his backpack in order to retrieve his camera. 

"Keith?", Mick asked once they'd seen enough of Notre Dame and they'd even asked some girl to take a picture of them in front of it. By now they were just strolling around at the other side of the Seine, searching for some place they could get something to eat before they wanted to take the metro to the Eiffel tower. 

"Hmm?", Keith only made.

"Are we alright?", he dared to ask, looking over at him carefully, as they slowly kept walking down the busy streets. 

"Why wouldn't we be?", Keith wanted to know and there was a bit of surprise audible in his voice. 

"I thought I'd freaked you out by saying that I'd hypothetically want to marry you if it was legal...", he sheepishly said while they were passing small boutiques and bistros and really cute cafés without taking too much note of their surroundings. He didn't want to lead this conversation now but he also couldn't wait until they finally were back at the hotel, he had to know, or otherwise it would make him feel at unease.

"I mean, a little...", he admitted, averting his gaze to the ground and Mick could see his cheeks turning slightly pink. 

"You just seemed quite in thought the last half an hour or so, maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that...", he observed. Keith hadn't been as frolic and outgoing as he had been before in the museum and Mick wondered whether it was because of what he'd said. 

"You didn't do anything wrong, Mick", Keith assured him, but something in his gaze made Mick believe that this wasn't the whole truth. 

"Are you afraid I'd just replace you with some girl at the first chance?", he therefore prompted and got back an irritated glance by Keith. 

"No...no it's not that…", he trailed off without really saying anything. 

"Then, what is?", he wanted to know, but Keith just shrugged it off. 

"It was a cute thing to say, though...", he offered instead before Mick could reply anything else. 

"What?", he asked back, deciding to let it go for now. 

"That you'd wanna marry me if it was legal", Keith clarified and the smile he gave him was ernest and enough to persuade Mick that they were alright. 

"So, we're good?", he still asked, just to make sure. 

"It's fine", Keith gave back, wrapping his arm around Mick's back for a moment to affectionately pull him against his side. 

"...and I love you too, by the way", he quietly added, smiling at him widely, lightly pressing Mick's shoulder, before letting go of him again. 

Mick mirrored his smile, relieved that the odd tension that had appeared between them earlier, now was resolved again. It had just been a stupid misunderstanding after all, because he was very well aware that it was way too soon to be talking about something like getting married, and he shouldn't keep dwelling on it. He was on a holiday trip in Paris with the man he loved, the last thing he should be doing right now was ruining his mood and the great time they were having by over-analysing each silly word they'd said to each other. 

Instead, he decided that he should go back to simply enjoying all of this, their trip, the time they got to spend together, the things Keith made him feel. Because it was wonderful and during the last couple of days, he actually had been happier than he remembered being in quite a long time. He shouldn't be ruining this for himself, but focus on the things that were truly important right now. Which were having a great time with Keith, and finding some food, because he really started to get hungry. 

"Look at that café over there, it's adorable!", he pointed out as they'd somewhat further walked down the street, the Seine always to their right. There was a small place, called "The Cool Cat" a few houses away, which seemed pretty cute and lovely with the pastel colours and beautiful flowers and the little tables and chairs they had put up outside. 

"It looks quite nice", Keith agreed. "Let's check out their menu!"

It turned out to sound really delicious, so they decided to go inside and try it out. Since it was pretty busy, they already contemplated to leave again and look for something else, but before they could as much as turn around, they were stopped. 

"Hey there, boys! Table for two?", a man, probably in his mid-50s, spotting a mustache, asked them. His accent unmistakably told them that he was from England as well, maybe from London even. 

"Hi, yeah...it looks a little full, though?", Keith replied and Mick let his view wander through the room. It was decorated with a lot of dedication, there were many little details and everywhere there were bright and cheerful colours. There also was a small England flag and French one on the bar counter next to the cashpoint and some pictures of cats. 

"Don't worry, darlings, there'll soon be a table available again. I'll get you once it's free", the man promised, a wide smile revealing his somewhat large front teeth. He was beaming with a friendly, positive energy that almost was infectious and Mick found himself returning his smile. Then the guy curtly nodded and winked at them before going back to his business of taking orders and getting them back to the guests once the food and drinks were prepared in the kitchen at the back. There also was a second man bustling about, a little shorter and bulkier than the one who'd greeted them, who appeared to be around the same age, and also was spotting a mustache. 

"Mick", Keith whispered, nudging his arm lightly to make him turn around and face him. 

"Hm?", he only made, trying not to outrightly stare at some of the other guests, two women, who were quite obviously holding hands over the table they were sitting at. He'd never seen any queer people acting that carefree in a public space before. There were so many people around, but nobody seemed to even care as much as to look twice. 

"What is this place?", Keith wanted to know, sounding astonished and Mick followed his gaze, catching some guy, a few years younger than them, sneaking a small kiss on the cheek of the bloke he was there with. 

"Like...a gay bar?", Keith mused, not giving Mick the option to answer. 

"Maybe?", Mick gave back, but before Keith could return anything, the man with the toothy smile came back. 

"Good news, boys, a free table is available for you now", he smiled at them and politely pointed them to their seats. 

"You're from London too, aren't you?", he asked them as he handed them the menus. 

"Yeah, I actually was wondering the same about you", Mick admitted in reply and the other chuckled. 

"Well, yeah, Jim, that's the beautiful man over there, and I are from England", he said, referring to the other man with the mustache, who was taking the orders from a small group of people a few tables away. "But we moved here twelve years ago and opened this café. It's always nice to meet fellow Londoners here. I'm Freddie by the way", the older man told them, flashing his brilliant smile. 

"I'm Mick", he introduced himself, smiling as well. 

"And that handsome lad's your boyfriend?", Freddie wanted to know and Mick blushed at that comment, as did Keith. Nobody had directly referred to Keith as his boyfriend before, but Mick himself. It was almost unfamiliar to hear it like that, but it definitely was beautiful and made him feel a little giddy even. He didn't know what exactly this place was, but it definitely was special, and so was Freddie. 

"I'm Keith...and yeah, Mick's my boyfriend", Keith replied. Being able to tell that to a random stranger and not just to some of their dearest friends, was an elevating feeling that was almost freeing. Mick sweetly smiled at Keith, it was like hearing him say that he loved him for the very first time again, even though this had just been a couple days ago. And in that moment, he'd almost completely forgotten again about his prior worries of pressuring Keith to move too fast by accidentally saying he'd want to marry him. 

"You two are adorable, darlings", Freddie commented as he observed them fondly gazing at each other. "And don't be afraid, this café is a place where everybody is welcome as long as they're behaving good and polite. Nobody here's gonna judge you or hurt you. Just enjoy yourselves, if you wanna hold his hand, hold his hand", Freddie added, winking at them and Mick felt his cheeks grow hot anew. Freddie definitely was something else. 

"Thanks, Freddie", Mick said for lack of anything better to say. 

Nobody had ever truly encouraged him before to fully embrace this part of himself. On the contrary, he always had to take so much crap, for the way he behaved, the way he dressed, for whom he loved, for the scripts he wrote, for defending other queer people in his articles. He'd lost "friends", his father wasn't talking to him anymore, and there were many people who wanted to make his life harder once they found out he didn't just like girls.   
But he'd learned for himself, through a lot of pain, that it was alright loving guys too, that he was allowed to be comfortable with being the person he was. However, no third person, no outsider, had ever told him that before. Less this clearly and passionately. 

"Anytime. Do you already know what you want to drink?"

 

Getting lunch at "The Cool Cat" was quite an experience. Not just because the food tasted absolutely incredible, but especially because Freddie, and Jim, whom he referred to as his husband, despite they obviously couldn't get legally married in France either, were some of the most wonderful people Mick had ever crossed paths with. Even though it was really full and bustling, Freddie and Jim still found time to have a little chat in between with all of their guests and everybody there seemed to absolutely adore them. 

What Mick had gathered from the things Freddie mentioned to them, is that this café was a place for everybody to feel welcome and accepted as they were. Seeing that Freddie and Jim were so honest and open about their relationship, obviously it had become a meeting point for a lot of gay folks. There was nobody who even looked at others twice for simply being who they were and it was oddly refreshing and absolutely amazing. The only other place like that Mick had ever been to before was some gay bar in London where almost exclusively queer guys were hanging out. 

By the time they finished their lunch, Mick actually dared to reach across the table and place his hand on Keith's, lightly trailing his fingers over his skin. He never would have done that at any other place, but since Freddie himself had told them it was alright, he needed to use that chance. Keith, however, almost instinctively wanted to pull his hand back, but Mick didn't let him and smiled at him encouragingly. 

"It's okay, baby", he whispered, pressing his hand lightly.

"Maybe I'm not okay...", Keith gave back in a tone that was quite hard to pinpoint for Mick. He didn't know whether Keith was angry or ashamed about it, so he eventually let go of him again. 

"But Freddie said…", he tried to reason, only for Keith to interrupt him. 

"It doesn't matter what he said", Keith meant, almost sounding hurt.

"What's wrong, Keith?", Mick wanted to know, carefully eyeing him because he couldn't explain why Keith was acting like that all of a sudden. He'd thought that they were alright again after the whole misunderstanding earlier. 

"Can we leave?", Keith only asked in return. 

"Baby, come on, what's going on?", he gave back, looking at him incredulously because he honestly didn't understand Keith right now. 

"I don't want to talk about it here, Mick", Keith explained, crossing his arms in front of his chest, not really meeting his eyes. 

"Is it because of what I said earlier?", he tried to dig. 

"Hm?", Keith made, finally lifting his gaze, looking at him a little confused.

"Uhm...getting married and stuff…", Mick clarified with a vague gesture. 

"No...no it's not that…"

"Then what's up with you?", he prompted. 

"Can we talk about this once we're outta here?", Keith suggested and he seemed to be somewhat uncomfortable. 

"Okay...sure…", Mick eventually gave in, feeling insecure and puzzled because he couldn't explain why Keith was behaving like this. Everything had been fine, great even, while they were eating their lunch. They'd enjoyed their food and talked about the things they still could visit while in Paris. He didn't comprehend why Keith would be all reserved and almost gruff now. But he hoped that Keith would let him know if they'd left the café. 

Once they'd paid and were good to go, Mick promised Freddie to stop by again soon, maybe on their way back home. 

"Oh I hope so! I'd be happy to see you two adorable darlings again!", Freddie replied, giving them one of his bright smiles. "Your man here is a really beautiful one, my friend, make sure to take good care of him", he added with a wink, directed at Keith and Mick felt himself blushing, while Keith just mumbled something incomprehensible. 

After they'd said their goodbyes and stepped out onto the street again, they walked in silence for a while. 

"Do you want to tell me now?", Mick finally dared to ask while they were headed for the next metro station. 

"Can we go someplace where it isn't so busy?", Keith returned, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets. 

"Of course...come on, we should be good in some of the smaller side streets", Mick meant and they just took a turn to their left and then twice to their right until the chatter and bustle noticeably died down. They found themselves in a narrow alleyway and just kept slowly strolling down the street. Mick didn't ask Keith again what was wrong, instead he kept quiet until he was ready to talk. 

"I didn't like the way he was always chatting you up", Keith eventually admitted. He sounded sheepish and as Mick cast a glance over at him, Keith had his gaze directed onto the ground. 

"Who?", he replied, a little clueless, because he wasn't quite sure what Keith was referring to. There was nobody who had tried to chat him up? 

"Who? Freddie, of course…", Keith gave back, his voice bitter and Mick had to restrain himself from laughing. Was that actually what Keith was thinking, or how he had perceived things? 

"Are you serious? He could be my father, Keith...also he was just being friendly", Mick gave back, incredulous. "Wait...were you jealous?", he added after a moment, the scales falling from his eyes and he stopped short in his tracks, grabbing Keith's arm to make him look at him. 

"There is no reason to be, babe! Even if he had been chatting me up, which he clearly didn't because he has a boyfriend he loves, then I wouldn't have cared in the slightest!", he assured him, pressing his arm as if to underline his statement. 

"I don't care about anyone else, but you. And I don't know what else to do or say to you to make this clear to you, Keith, but I love you...I love you so much, baby…", he finished his rambles, sounding increasingly desperate.

Once again that horrible feeling overcame him, telling him that after all Keith just didn't love him the same way he did. That he didn't love him as deeply, didn't want to be with him for the long run, but that whatever Mick said or did actually freaked him out and drove him away. On the other hand, why would he be outright jealous then? Mick totally didn't get his reasonings right now. 

"I'm sorry...it was...I was being silly…", Keith replied, his cheeks turning pink in embarrassment. 

"No, it's...it's sweet, actually. It's cute that you got jealous over me…", Mick confessed and the look in Keith's eyes visibly softened at his words. 

"Of course I did...I love you…", he meant, naturally, making Mick's chest swell with affection. Maybe he shouldn't be worrying too much about the state of their relationship after all. However, there was one thing he still didn't understand. 

"Then why didn't you want me to take your hand?", he wanted to know because he just didn't get it. It would have been perfectly fine for once, just being who they were in public, without having to pretend they were just friends. 

"Cause it made me feel uncomfortable...", Keith only offered, stepping away from him, out of Mick's touch. 

"I don't understand", Mick went on, prompting him to go on as they continued their walk through the smaller streets. It actually was way quieter around there, there were some people outside who clearly weren't tourists, but locals, bringing home groceries or walking their dog. 

"We never...we never did something like that before...in front of everyone else...I...I wasn't ready for it...it made me feel weird…", he stuttered, trying to explain while not directly looking at him. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do so", Mick apologised, softly nudging his arm. 

"I know", Keith simply said. 

"I'm really sorry about this...I didn't intend to make you feel like that twice in just one day…", he went on with a sigh. 

It was hard restraining himself from expressing his adoration for Keith when he felt so strongly for him. Before he met him, Mick had never felt the need to do or say anything to one of his exes that could possibly be perceived as too sappy, too clingy, or too grand of a romantic gesture. With Keith it was a whole other matter. There had never been anyone like him before, Mick never had felt like he did when he was with Keith. Completely content and happy. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops for everyone to hear. He wanted to promise Keith the world, without being afraid of not being able to keep these promises, because he'd do anything for this man. 

"It's okay, Mick", Keith answered, giving him a little smile and nudging him back, letting him know it truly was alright. 

"I'm glad you told me, though…", Mick meant earnestly. Actually he wanted to say more. Wanted to tell Keith that he just didn't know how to handle his feelings, that he loved him so much he didn't know how to even begin to express it, and that he didn't mean to overwhelm him with all of this. But he stayed silent because he feared it would be too much right now and also this truly wasn't the place for a conversation like this. 

"Me too", Keith replied, giving him a soft smile, brushing the back of his hand against Mick's while they kept walking closely side by side, making him smile as well. 

"Baby?", he asked him after a moment where they'd just walked the streets in comfortable silence. 

"Hmm?", Mick listened up. 

"I need to know one more thing to say in French", Keith said, with a lopsided grin and a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. 

"Which is?", he wanted to know, raising an eyebrow, wondering what Keith was thinking about as he leaned closer to him. 

"I want to make love to you...how do you say it in French?", he asked in a low voice, only for Mick to hear, a whimsical smile on his lips. 

"Je veux faire l'amour avec toi", Mick whispered in return, smirking back at him. 

"Hm...je veux faire l'amour avec toi...tonight", Keith repeated after him then, grinning and winking at him, making Mick grin as well. 

"You can, baby...once we're back at the hotel..but this time please without destroying the bed", he chuckled about the memory, wrapping an arm around Keith's waist for a moment, happily smiling at him in anticipation. 

"I already promised you I'll be more gentle with you again, babe...", Keith remembered him quietly, still visibly abashed about the destroyed bed. 

"It was amazing, though…", Mick replied, laughing lightly, which made Keith grin. 

"You know...I guess Freddie was right with what he said earlier…", Keith mentioned then. 

"What with?"

"That you're such a beautiful man and I should take good care of you…", Keith clarified, sounding almost shy, though and Mick thought it was adorable. "I'll take really good care of you tonight, baby", he added smiling at him sweetly and Mick felt himself blush a little because Keith was being so cute with him. 

"I love you, doudou", Mick softly said and if it weren't for the passers-by roaming the streets as well, he'd have liked nothing more than to press a quick kiss to Keith's cheek. Instead, he had to make do with Keith quietly saying it back which still amazed him beyond words. And it finally turned down the nagging voice in his head that wanted to make him believe differently. 

"How about we finally go see the Eiffel tower now?", Mick suggested next and Keith chuckled. 

"If we ever find the way back to a metro station, cause I've got the feeling we got a little lost", he replied. 

"We're good, babe. Look, down there is the street we came from earlier", Mick pointed down the road, and indeed, it already seemed way busier over there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also I hope you didn't mind me adding Freddie and Jim as "special guests" haha and also that I didn't characterise Freddie wrong or so cause I wouldn't exactly describe myself as an avid Queen fan (heck I haven't even watched Bohemian Rhapsody yet lol) anyway I was thinking how sad it is that they never got to grow old together and that's why I decided to add them here and make them older than they were and still be together because they never got that and yeah I hope you guys liked that adition to the story^^


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> thank you so so much for all the comments and kudos I got on the 5th chapter! :) it was such a wonderful affirmation for me that what I'm doing here is actually something people enjoy and I just really needed this after having that argument with this person who used to be my online friend but now not anymore...(those of you who are on Tumblr and following some of the main Stones blogs there probably might have witnessed that but oh well...)  
> I honestly don't give a crap what other people think about this hobby, as long as fanfic writers and content creators are respectful towards the actual people then everything's perfectly fine. I'd never harass anybody on social media about this...it's just a dear hobby and I enjoy this very much because it's taking my mind of some shitty stuff...
> 
> Anyway, enough of this, and on to this next chapter! It's deeper and sadder and more dramatic than I first intended this whole story to become. Also I'm sorry for always giving Keith mean exes but I just thought this backstory might be interesting to explore, so I hope you're forgiving me for all the hurt and angst and drama and still enjoy this!

They had been staying in Paris for three days, but this was their last morning there, later they wanted to hit the road again on their way towards Marseille. His heart was still beating fast in his chest, as Mick nuzzled his face against Keith's body, lightly trailing a hand over his ribcage. Shortly after waking up, they'd been cuddling and lazily kissing for a while, but ultimately they ended up making love to each other. Keith's breathing was still a little heavy as well, but Mick happily noticed the content smile on his lips. 

"I loved this, baby…", Mick mumbled against Keith's heated skin, pressing a gentle kiss there. "I love you so much…", he added between some more little kisses to Keith's chest. 

"I love you so much too, babe", Keith returned softly, wrapping him up in his arms. 

"This is perfect, isn't it?", Mick murmured, his hand still running up and down Keith's side. If it was up to him they could stay in bed like this the whole day, but on the other hand, they could do that too when at home. While on their road trip, obviously they wanted to make the most of it and see many different places. 

"Hmm", Keith only gave back, his eyes closed as he painted small patterns on Mick's back with his fingers.

"I want this, always...waking up with you. Opening my eyes and the first thing I see is you, baby...I want this every day", he went on babbling, his mind still on a high from the orgasm he had thanks to Keith just a few minutes ago. 

"That's a nice imagination", Keith simply returned, the smile in his voice clearly audible. 

"You know, we could actually have it...how about we move in together when we're back home? Then we could always have this, love...", Mick casually suggested without even thinking further of it. 

"Move in together?", Keith repeated as if he hadn't understood him correctly the first time. 

"Yeah, it would be perfect...we could fall asleep together and wake up together every single day", Mick explained, smiling at that possibility. 

"I don't know, Mick", Keith returned hesitantly, stopping to caress his back. 

"Don't you like that idea?", he wanted to know, a little insecure now. Maybe he shouldn't have suggested it. Maybe it was too soon and they should wait. Mick didn't quite know what they should be waiting for, though, because he was absolutely sure of this. Otherwise he wouldn't have proposed it, even if he hadn't further thought of it yet. But to him it seemed to be an absolutely beautiful prospect. Getting to have breakfast with Keith in the morning, coming home to him in the evening, every single day. 

"I don't know…", Keith only shrugged, sighing a little. 

"What's that supposed to mean?", he asked, lifting his head up from Keith's chest to better look at him. But Keith avoided his gaze. 

"I just...I don't like the idea of it", he finally admitted and Mick didn't get it. 

"What? But why?", he inquired, almost astounded. 

What was there not to like about the prospect of being able to spend so much more time together? After being with Keith all day during the past week, he dreaded coming back home and only seeing him once or twice a week. Just thinking about this already made his chest ache because he'd miss him so much. 

"It's too soon...", Keith eventually offered in explanation, confirming Mick's presumption. 

"But I love you...come on, baby...it would be so amazing, don't you think?", he tried to persuade him, but from the look on Keith's face and the fact that he dropped his arms, no longer engulfing Mick, it was quite obvious that he wasn't thinking the same. 

"Mick, come on...I don't think it's a good idea", he argued without really giving him a reason. 

"I don't see why not…", Mick gave back, sitting up and leaning on one arm, looking at Keith, whose eyes still didn't meet his own. 

"We haven't even been together for four months yet", he eventually stated and Mick sighed.

"I know...but I still love you...and you love me too, right?" 

"I do, but...it isn't about this", Keith meant, although for Mick it really was all about it. 

"Then what is it about? Tell me, cause I don't understand", he therefore prompted him. 

"Mick, please...just...it's too soon", Keith repeated, still not coming up with a proper explanation. 

"Fine…", he gave in, but the heavy feeling in his chest was increasing. Keith's reasoning wasn't good enough for him, he didn't get what his problem about it was. If they truly were in love with each other, then why couldn't they live together?

"Are you pissed at me now?", Keith wanted to know, finally turning his head to look at him, but Mick didn't meet his eyes right away. 

"Are you pissed at me?", he asked back after a moment, lifting his gaze to Keith's who now was sitting up, leaning against the headboard of the bed. 

"I'm in love with you", Keith simply said as if it would explain everything, but actually it didn't. 

"Then why can't we move in together?", Mick wanted to know and he was aware that he sounded like a child who was asking for the fifth time why he couldn't have ice cream for dinner.

"I don't want to have that conversation now…", Keith replied, still avoiding a proper response. Or at least one that would satisfy Mick. 

"But Keith….", he tried once more, just to be disrupted. 

"No, Mick...I'm taking a shower now", Keith decided, getting up from the bed. 

"Can I join you?", he asked, almost hopefully, looking at him expectantly, but Keith only sighed. 

"I want to take it alone", he said and for some reason Mick felt like he'd been punched in the guts. 

"Keith…I'm sorry...I...", he started, trying to find some words to explain, trying to come up with something that would resolve this awkwardness between them and would make his chest feel lighter again. 

"I'm taking a shower", Keith only repeated, disappearing into the bathroom and locking the door behind himself. 

Meanwhile, Mick stayed behind in bed between the sticky linens, feeling pretty miserable about how things had played out. How could a few carelessly said words have the power to make the difference between him feeling like being on cloud nine and him feeling like utter crap within just minutes? While the pressure in his chest seemed to only get heavier, a silent tear rolled down his cheek and he angrily brushed it away. Maybe Keith was right after all and it was too soon for them yet, even though it felt completely right for Mick and like the most natural thing for them to do. It was the logical next step. Yet it was hard to accept that Keith was at another point in their relationship, was a few steps behind him. Obviously, Mick would wait for him to get there, he'd give him the time he clearly needed, but it still really hurt. He'd never experienced before that loving someone could also hurt that much, but he'd never loved anybody the way he loved Keith. All he knew was that they should talk this out and get their differences about that matter out of the way. Because otherwise this awkwardness wouldn't go away anytime soon.

As Keith finally was done in the bathroom, and appeared back in the bedroom, Mick quietly observed how he rummaged through his luggage, looking for some clothes.

"Can we talk about this again?", he wanted to know after a while, as Keith pulled a new t-shirt over his head. 

"I don't want to talk about it now", he returned, almost sounding annoyed and Mick regretted having asked. 

"But why?", he still dared to add, making Keith sigh again. 

"I just don't...and also you should get a shower, babe, you're all messy", Keith gave back, going for a lighter tone as he attempted to change the topic. Mick just couldn't let it go, though, not without feeling miserable about it. 

"Will we talk about this again eventually, though?"

"Yeah, but not now", Keith assured him.

"I just, I don't get it…", Mick started, but again Keith disrupted him. 

"Mick, come on, you should get up and take a shower if we want to get on the road anytime soon..."

"It's not like we gotta be somewhere...", he replied in a sulky tone, making Keith sigh yet again. 

"I'm not ready to talk this out with you at the moment...but we will talk about this later, I promise, alright?", he explained, running a hand through his still damp hair in an insecure gesture. And something in the way Keith said this and looked at him, finally made Mick realise that he probably had been somewhat too pushy about that whole topic. Keith clearly seemed quite uncomfortable and this almost felt like a déjà vu to him. It hadn't been his intention at all to make Keith feel like that once more in just a matter of days. 

"Okay...I'm sorry…", Mick replied sheepishly, almost like a child who had been admonished by his parents. "I'm really sorry, love…", he apologised again, finally getting up to get a shower himself, but stopped short in front of Keith. 

"It's okay, Mick...this isn't about you...I just...it doesn't matter. You didn't do anything wrong", Keith said, confusing him with this statement.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just give me a little time? I...I really cannot...I don't know how to talk about this right now. Just a little while...can you do that for me, baby?", Keith almost pleaded and there really wasn't a single thing Mick could oppose to that. 

"Of course", Mick agreed, cupping Keith's cheek with one hand. "Of course, I can do that, love", he added, running his hand over Keith's freshly shaven skin softly, before he finally went to the bathroom. 

None of them mentioned the whole thing again during their breakfast at a nice little café nearby and also not while packing up their belongings after. They didn't really talk much at all, just went over the route again that they'd decided to drive next. Ultimately, it should lead them to the Côte d'Azur, they wanted to visit some places along the coast, like Marseille, Nice and Monaco. However, the trip from Paris to Marseille alone would take them two days on the road. It was more than 500 miles and they definitely would have to stop somewhere along the way. 

Once they were all good to go, they checked out of the hotel and soon they'd left Paris and its outskirts behind, driving through less populated areas. Every now and again they passed some small town or even just a little village. Whenever there was anything that seemed worthwhile or beautiful to take a closer look at, Keith stopped and they got off the chopper. However, at first there wasn't really much noteworthy that was worth getting off the road for, so they kept on driving a long while, until Mick could barely hold on to Keith any longer because his arms felt stiff. He squeezed him, before signaling for him to make a stop soon and so they eventually took a break when they reached the next village sometime in the afternoon. 

It was tiny and there wasn't really much to do or to see, but at least there was a small supermarket and a restaurant. Mick didn't mind that it seemed boring, at least he could stretch his legs and loosen his arms a little as he had gotten off behind Keith and pulled off his helmet. 

"You hungry?", Keith wanted to know as he lit up a cigarette. It already was his fourth this day, while recently he'd barely smoked at all, maybe just two or three all day long. Apparently he'd barely gotten around to it then, or just hadn't felt the need to. He'd told Mick before that he was trying to smoke less, but this day, he didn't seem to want to, or be able to stick to his resolution. Mick's gaze wandered from the cig in his hand to Keith's face and back, while he was wondering if Keith needed the nicotine because he was stressed out about their prior conversation. 

"Should we check out the restaurant?", Mick returned, deciding not to mention the smoking because he didn't want to annoy Keith. Even if he needed to light a fifth cigarette after, Mick was aware that he shouldn't be telling him what or what not to do. It wasn't his place, he only should probably be asking him if he was alright. But he knew him, Keith would assure him he was okay, even if he wasn't, just to not worry him. So he would let him be for now, trusting that he'd come talk to him once he was ready to. 

"Yeah, let's", Keith agreed, taking a long drag, as they walked over there to have a look at the menu. 

Keith was pretty quiet, almost broody, during lunch and even though Mick tried his best to raise a smile from him, he barely managed to. Usually Keith mostly just was like this when too tired, but Mick was aware that his current mood rather was influenced by asking him to move in together. For a while, he was pondering whether to say something, but he didn't want to stir everything up again. And also he'd promised Keith to give him some time. So he couldn't really do anything but fall back on some chit-chat. 

"Do you fancy another French lesson?", he wanted to know, as they were halfway through their meal, looking at Keith expectantly. 

"Hmm...maybe later", he just shrugged, continuing with his food, and Mick had to suppress a little sigh because of Keith's disinterest.

"Okay whatever...", Mick replied, not quite managing to keep the slightly frustrated tone out of his voice. 

"How far do you still want to drive today? We're almost 150 miles down already", he added then, trying a different topic. 

"Not that far...it doesn't look too good outside...we should try finding a place to stay", Keith meant and Mick had to agree. The weather wasn't nice and sunny outside, instead it had been grey and almost a little chill that day. By now, the sky seemed to look even darker than before, so they decided that they should get on their way soon in order to find an inn or a hotel to stay before it started raining. 

However, they weren't too lucky. Once on the road again, they had to realise that they were about two hours away from the next bigger town and of all the small villages they'd passed, most didn't even have a bar. As the first tiny raindrops started falling down, they were miles away from any settlement. There was nothing but trees around. Yet, Keith drove the chopper off the road near some trees and bushes.

"What are you doing?", Mick asked him, almost incredulously, after lifting off his helmet.

"We're gonna put up the tent", Keith replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world. 

"What?", he gave back, somewhat dumbfounded, because he hadn't expected that answer. 

"Come on, before the rain's getting heavier!", Keith prompted him, already getting the tent, pulling it out of its bag. 

At first Mick wanted to argue and tell him that they should drive to the next village, maybe ride out the bad weather at some restaurant, but then he remembered that he hadn't spotted one in ages. So instead of disagreeing, he went over to help Keith with the tent. 

Luckily, they managed to put it up fairly quickly while it still was just lightly raining. Once they'd put everything they needed and what mustn't get wet inside, they crawled into the tent themselves and zipped it close. It was only around six in the early evening and they were lying huddled up on their blankets and sleeping bags. There wasn't much to do, but listening as the raindrops hitting the roof of the tent were getting larger. 

 

Keith was laying on his back, staring at the ceiling of the tent, as Mick kept glancing over at him every now and again. Neither of them said a word while the weather outside was getting worse. After a moment, Mick slowly stretched out a hand to carefully run it over Keith's arm. 

"Can I hold you, baby?", he silently asked, as Keith didn't react in any way to his touch. 

"Hmm", Keith just made, rolling onto his side, facing away from him. Mick scooted a little closer, there wasn't much space in the tent anyway, and wrapped an arm around him, hugging Keith from behind. Keith let out a quiet little sigh, but then put his hand over Mick's which was resting against his chest, squeezing it gently. 

They didn't have to talk about things now, if they could just lie together like this, everything seemed to be alright. For a while nothing mattered, not the heavy rain outside, not the fact that they'd have to spend the night in the tent, nor that Keith wasn't on the same step yet in their relationship as Mick. The only things Mick perceived were his body closely pressed against Keith's, their entangled legs, Keith gently rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand. And then it all got disrupted by a low grumbling in the sky, announcing a storm pulling up. 

"I hate thunderstorms…", Mick mumbled, almost instinctively hugging Keith closer. 

"Why that?", he wanted to know, he actually sounded a bit incredulous. 

"When I was a kid ...maybe about 5...my mum and I were out driving around in the car during a pretty bad thunderstorm. A lightning bolt hit a tree somewhere in front of us and it fell onto the road...could have crushed us if we'd been going faster, or if it happened a moment later. Mum and I both got a pretty bad shock…", Mick remembered with a shudder, pressing Keith tighter. 

"I just...ever since then I've been...scared, cause I've seen what it can do...what could happen…god, there are so many trees around here, Keith...", he added as he realised where they'd put up their tent. 

"It's gonna be okay, babe. It's still pretty far away, just some rumbling", Keith tried to calm him, pressing his hand in reassurance.

"Hmm...let's hope so…", Mick muttered, nuzzling his face further against Keith's neck. 

"We're gonna be fine", he gave back and Mick thought it was very sweet of him to calm him down about something as mundane as a thunderstorm. 

"Aren't you scared at all?", he still asked and Keith chuckled lightly. 

"Not really…"

"Not even as a kid?"

"Then I've always been scared of losing my mum at the supermarket and never finding the way back home again", Keith told him, the grin in his voice clearly audible and it made Mick smile. 

"And now?", he wanted to know. 

"What now?", Keith asked confusedly. 

"What are you scared of now?", he wanted to know but Keith didn't reply anything.

"Are you scared now of moving in with me?", Mick dared to ask after a while, at the risk of Keith shutting down once more. He didn't want that awkward tension returning, it felt like it just had been lifted off their shoulders and things seemed lighter between them again. On the other hand, he was desperate to know what was going on with Keith, because clearly there was more to it. It was painfully obvious that Keith loved him, but the fact that he wasn't even the tiniest bit enthusiastic about the prospect of moving in together kept worrying Mick. 

"Somewhat…", Keith admitted after a long moment. 

"Why?"

"It's...it's hard to...it's tough talking about…", he gave back, as Mick felt him get a little tense. 

"You can tell me anything, baby. No matter what, I'd never judge you or think any less of you…", he told him, lightly trailing his fingers over Keith's chest. 

"It's still hard...I never…", Keith started, just to disrupt himself again and it was fairly obvious that his voice was stained with tears. 

"Keith, hey...what happened, love?", Mick therefore asked, getting a little worried. He'd never experience Keith this drenched before. Sure, sometimes he could get a little broody, but most of the time he was fun and laid back. 

"I can't…", he eventually meant, pressing Mick's hand tighter. 

"Baby...you don't have to talk about it, but it could help finally getting it off your chest. I'm there for you, doudou", Mick assured him. 

"It's...it's so embarrassing, though...I'm so bloody ashamed of this, Mick...I'm so mad at myself for letting this happen and not being able to stop it earlier...", Keith finally got out and a sob actually escaped him. 

"Hey...hey, love...it's okay", Mick tried soothing him, shifting his position so he could cup Keith's cheek with his hand, brushing his tears away. Keith ended up turning around, facing him, but just to cling onto him and bury his face in the crook of Mick's neck as he silently started weeping. There wasn't much to do for Mick but to engulf him in his arms, consolingly rubbing his back, whispering some words of comfort. He didn't know for how long Keith was crying against his neck, the only thing he realised was the rumbling of thunder moving closer. But he barely even cared about that anymore, not when the man he loved was bawling his eyes out over something apparently really bad. 

"What happened, Keith...?", he finally dared to inquire after a long time. The thunderstorm had moved away without directly hitting them, but it was still pouring outside. Keith had stopped crying, but was sniffling every now and then, even though Mick had handed him some tissues to blow his nose and dry his eyes. They still were lying face to face, Keith had his hand tangled in Mick's shirt while Mick lightly trailed his fingers over Keith's ribcage. 

"Before we met...I'd only been single for a few months…", Keith eventually offered and Mick nodded encouragingly. Keith had never really told him about that relationship he had before they got to know each other. He'd only mentioned a girlfriend he had for more than two years when he was in his early twenties and a bloke he had dated for a short while and had hooked up with a couple of times. 

"I wasn't out there looking for anything new...I never thought...I liked you from the moment we first met, Mick...but...it took me a couple days to...to wrap my head around it. I wasn't...I think I wasn't totally ready for something new that fast…", Keith went on after a moment, his voice hoarse from crying. 

"Are you...telling me right now that this...we...this is a mistake?", Mick asked, his voice cracking, as the ache in his chest returned like a wave that was crushing him from the inside. 

"No...no, god no, baby. This isn't about you. I love you...I wanna be with you so badly…", Keith immediately backpaddled, looking at him earnestly and Mick felt the heavy pain retrieving like the high water at low tide, leaving him able to properly breathe again. 

"But there's stuff that happened...that just...it holds me back...my heart wants you, but my head...it's still fucking me up", Keith continued to clarify and even though it was incredibly sweet and comforting hearing him say all this about wanting to be with him, Mick still got increasingly concerned about the rest. 

"You can tell me about it, love...I want to help you, please, let me help you get over it...I want you to do better, I just want you, us, to be happy", he encouraged him with a small smile. 

"I didn't dare calling you at first...when you gave me your number. I wanted you so badly but I was...I was so afraid…", Keith went on explaining. 

"What of?", Mick asked but didn't get an answer right away. 

"But I couldn't get you out of my head, baby...I needed to see you again...you know, after we first met and I...I tried making excuses not to take you home for some weeks…"

"I thought you were being chivalrous...I really liked that about you...you were being a gentleman...still are, baby", Mick gave back with a loving smile. 

"Yeah, I mean...I tried that...but actually I was just scared of...of letting someone new into my life already. But I couldn't stop it...you flashed me too much, babe. Still do. I've never been that much into somebody before. I couldn't stay away from you, I want you", Keith meant and Mick could actually feel his cheeks grow hot because everything Keith told him regarding their relationship completely flattered him and made him feel incredibly warm and happy. 

"But why did you try to stay away then?", he still had to ask, trying to make some sense out of the rest of it. Keith seemed completely agitated and bothered. 

"Cause of...of my previous relationship", Keith just said, directing his gaze away from him. 

"You never really told me about that…"

"I don't know how…"

"What went wrong, baby?", Mick wanted to know. 

"Everything…" 

"Come on, it couldn't have been that bad?", he inquired, but the look on Keith's face told him differently. 

"It was worse…She was...bad...she was so bad. A really evil woman…but I didn't know at first. In the beginning it all was fine...I thought I really loved her. I moved in with her pretty quickly, cause I was just so blinded...and I don't know when things changed. It was little stuff...she'd get mad at me for no reason and yell...and command me around...and I played along, cause I thought if I just...you know, if I just did what she wanted, she'd be happy again and lovely, like I thought she was.", Keith finally started opening up, all of this spluttering out of him, and Mick didn't like a single bit what he was hearing. 

But he didn't disrupt Keith this time because he could feel how tough it was for him to talk about this at all. It must cost him so much strength to finally open up about this and for a moment, Mick wondered whether he'd ever talked about this before to anybody. 

"She'd...she'd push me around and slap me and it was just...it wasn't that often at first, so I thought, well maybe what I'd said or done was really stupid and warranted her reaction...but it didn't, obviously…I just wanted her to be that person again whom I first met. She was beautiful and sweet...until she wasn't. She uh...there were some...sometimes she...she punched me, hit me... and...I mean, she wasn't like that all the time...she'd be sweet again for days, weeks...but then it would start all over...sometimes she...she wanted to sleep with me but I didn't...she got so bloody mad when I couldn't...then she...she hurt me…", Keith continued with his story until his voice broke at the memory and Mick swallowed around the heavy lump in his throat. 

He hadn't expected anything like that in the slightest. Keith's continued pain was clearly visible in his teary eyes and it was the most horrible thing ever seeing him like this, hurt and broken, and hearing him talk about these awful things. Yet he still didn't reply anything because he felt there was more Keith needed to get out, talk about it to get it off his chest. Instead he just brought his hand up to Keith's cheek, gently brushing away a new tear that had slipped from his eye, as Keith once more averted his gaze abashedly. 

"There were some...some incidents where I…", he stopped, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself down before going on. It didn't help too much, though, he still was trembling and clutching onto Mick as if to seek hold and support. "I woke up from my sleep...cause she...she'd been touching me…and then...then she said she'd help me out and...and would just...she uh...", Keith eventually broke off, breathing heavily, his body trembling even more in Mick's arms and it was painfully obvious how much these things were still haunting him. 

It was so tough just listening to all of this and above all Mick was outright shocked and disgusted by the way this horrible person had been treating Keith. This amazingly loving and great man who had been nothing but sweet and wonderful with him since the night they met. He didn't comprehend how anyone could ever treat another person like that, even less somebody they claimed to love. He felt anger rising inside of him, but didn't let it out. It wouldn't help Keith right now if he got mad about something that couldn't be changed anymore. And as Keith inevitably started crying again, Mick instinctively hugged him closer, carefully rubbing his back and trying to make him feel safe. 

"Shh, baby...you don't have to tell me all of this if you can't...it must be so hard for you...you've said enough for me to understand what a bloody shitty person she was. I'm so sorry that this happened to you...you didn't deserve this, love...it wasn't your fault, baby. You're the best man I ever met...you shouldn't be blaming yourself for what happened. It wasn't your fault...", Mick whispered to him calmingly, gently pulling Keith's head against his chest, finally understanding what he had meant before. It was heartbreaking knowing that something this terrible happened to Keith, but even more so that he apparently was still blaming himself for it. 

"I should've left sooner…I should have...maybe fought back", Keith sobbed against his chest as Mick was holding him, running his hands over his back soothingly. 

"Baby...there's nothing you have to blame yourself for....you're a good man, you fell for a horrible person, but you cannot blame yourself for it. The only one to blame is her", he tried to make him understand, feeling angry tears stinging in his eyes because he was so mad at this woman, even though he didn't know her. But he simply couldn't wrap his head around why she'd abuse Keith of all people like this. Keith was the sweetest guy he knew, he didn't deserve a single bad thing happening to him, let alone all of this horrid bullying and outright mistreatment. 

"It still feels like I...should have done something…", Keith meant, his voice stained with tears. 

"You were hoping for the best, love. You still believed in the best of her because you're a good person and because you were in love. There's nothing wrong with that, baby", Mick once more tried to persuade him. 

"I don't know, Mick...it went on like this for...a couple months, almost half a year…I should have left sooner", Keith replied, he sounded broken. 

"But you were strong enough to leave in the end", he reminded him, lifting his chin to make Keith look at him. "You're the best and strongest person I know, love. You got out of this, now she cannot hurt you any longer."

"So you don't think I'm...I'm a total idiot and a bloody coward who cannot even handle some crazy girl but instead lets her push me around and…", Keith went on, but Mick couldn't stand the way he was talking about himself and had to disrupt him. 

"Keith, stop...you're none of this. I would never think like that of you. I don't judge you for this...it wasn't your fault…", Mick tried to get through to him once more. It was hardly bearable to know what had befallen Keith, but even harder it was knowing that he was reproaching himself for it. 

"You managed to leave, you got out", Mick reminded him again, gently squeezing his arm in encouragement. 

"Yeah...I...I got my own flat and just left…", Keith agreed, eventually starting to calm down a little as Mick kept rubbing his back soothingly. "She didn't know the address then luckily, but she still knew where I'm working with Ronnie, so she...she showed up at the record shop…", he continued to tell him and Mick was glad that at least for the moment Keith had stopped blaming himself. It really was hard and awfully sad witnessing this, seeing Keith putting himself down for something that somebody else did to him. 

"Ronnie told her after the second time that he'd call the police if she ever showed up again…didn't see her anymore since..."

"Does Ronnie know?", Mick wanted to know then, already sensing the answer. 

"No, not really. He just...he thinks we had a bad fight and broke up because of that and then she started harassing me, following me…", Keith admitted, avoiding his gaze once more. 

"Have you ever told anyone about this before?", Mick then asked, but Keith only shook his head, clearly in embarrassment. So Mick didn't even need to inquire whether Keith had ever considered calling the police or somebody. It was obvious from everything he'd said that he was really ashamed about everything, even though Mick wished he wasn't, because he wasn't guilty of anything. 

"Thanks for telling me, baby. I can see how tough this must have been for you...it means a lot that you trusted me with this", Mick said, softly trailing his thumb over Keith's cheek, as his head slowly started putting together all the information like pieces of a puzzle. 

Now he finally did understand, almost too well, why Keith was being this hesitant of moving in with him. He also remembered Keith's relief and near astonishment about Mick reassuring him that he wouldn't want to do anything that Keith wasn't up for as well. After not only being abused verbally and physically, but also sexually, Mick couldn't even try to imagine what Keith had been going through. And he wished that Keith had talked to him earlier, because he wanted to help him and be there for him, show him that he didn't need to go through this alone. But he completely understood and respected Keith telling him just now, it must have been incredibly hard for him to be able to trust Mick like he did after everything he went through. And he was so glad that Keith trusted him enough because it was proof of how deep their connection was, despite only knowing each other for four months.  
It also really didn't come as a surprise to him that Keith was still being affected by this. In fact, it was quite astounding that he had been keeping it together this well during the last few months. There had been some little occurrences that Mick could only pinpoint now with the knowledge about what had happened. But most of the time, Keith had simply seemed happy and content whenever they could spend time together. 

"How long has it been after she finally left you alone and before we met?", he wanted to know then, still feeling incredibly bad for Keith. He really wanted to comprehend this somehow, but it was almost impossible, because there was no logical way to explain it. And he wanted nothing more than to take Keith's pain away, to be able to help him, make him feel better about everything that happened. But he didn't quite know yet how to best do that. 

"About three months…", Keith admitted, his voice was so hoarse it nearly cracked. 

"Do you need some water, doudou?", Mick offered and Keith lightly nodded in reply. So he carefully disentangled their limbs to sit up and then crawled to the foot end to retrieve a bottle of water from one of their bags. 

"Here, have a sip, baby", Mick meant as he handed the bottle to Keith, who was now sitting on the mess of blankets and sleeping bags as well. "Do you need anything else, some food?", he asked him because right now this seemed the only way for him to be any useful in this situation. 

"I could need a drink…", he returned after taking some gulps from the water bottle. 

"We didn't really bring along any booze...well, there's that bottle of wine I bought the other day…do you want some of that?", he offered, already grabbing for his backpack to pull it out. 

"No...it's...it was supposed to be for something nicer than this…", Keith declined, sounding almost coy. 

"I don't care, baby. If you say you need a drink then have one", Mick gave back, crawling to his spot at Keith's side again. 

"I didn't mean wine, Mick…"

"I know...I'm so sorry, baby...I don't know what to tell you...how to make this any better...I'm so sorry for just...talking about moving in when you clearly aren't ready...and the other day, when I said that about getting married...I didn't want to make you feel this uncomfortable", he apologised yet again because he was feeling so bad for Keith. The knowledge Keith had shared with him hurt a lot and made him incredibly angry, but at the same time, Mick was so relieved that Keith wasn't in this terrible place anymore and that he was safe. In order to show him this, Mick pulled him into his arms once again, softly stroking his hair as Keith leaned his head against his shoulder.

"I know, babe. I know it wasn't intentional. It wasn't you who hurt me", Keith affirmed, nuzzling closer against Mick. 

"Still...I understand now...and if you need more time, or...or more space...I don't know, love, tell me, what do you need from me?", Mick inquired, shifting a little away from him again to better be able to look at his face. 

"I...I just need you. I wanna be with you...that's all I know", Keith answered, almost sounding shy, as he looked down onto his own hands. 

"I can live with that", Mick smiled, scooting a bit closer again to press a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Do you...I mean…this must still be haunting you, obviously. I...was just wondering...did I ever do something to…", he mused, not even able to finish before Keith stopped him. 

"Mick, no...you're being so considerate and loving. And I think you actually helped me...I didn't want to meet anyone new cause I was afraid...but you...you helped me because being with you makes me realise that this ...this is how it's supposed to be", he admitted and Mick softly smiled at him because he was so glad to hear this. He loved this man so much that he couldn't even dare to imagine hurting him in any way. All he wanted was to show him that he honestly meant it, that he was so deeply in love with him and wanted to be with him for the long run. 

"I just...I remembered something, from a couple weeks ago…", he explained, thinking back of that night after they went out to a pub together to watch some band play. 

"Yeah?"

"When we were in bed together that one time and I...I asked you if you wanted me to take you for a change...you said you didn't fancy it...did you...I mean…was this because of what happened?", he eventually dared to ask, not sure whether he'd rip open some more old wounds like this. 

"I...I felt like...I'd be...I don't know, this maybe sounds pretty stupid...I guess, completely giving myself to you if we did it like that. But...I...I just couldn't…I'm not…I can't yet...I mean...I do trust you not to hurt me, baby, I do. I know you're nothing like that...But...I just, I can't...yet", Keith stammered, evidently abashed.

"Hey, it's okay...it's fine, love. I totally get it. I'm...god, I don't know what to say, baby. I...in hindsight I also could understand it if you...if you'd needed some more time before we...before we actually got together", Mick gave back reassuringly, wrapping his arms around him a little tighter. 

"You're just too beautiful and charming...I wanted you so badly...still do. I always will want you, Mick. But...I guess, you gotta be a little more patient with me?", Keith said and it rather sounded like a question. 

"Of course...of course I will be patient with you, if that's what you need. We will do things your pace, doudou", Mick promised him, pressing a small kiss to his temple. 

"Thanks, Mick…for understanding...and for still wanting me", Keith gave back, his cheeks reddening.

"Why, of course. I will always want you, Keith", he said, naturally, repeating Keith's prior words, which elicited a light chuckle from him that made Mick smile. He knew they would be alright somehow. They'd work through this together, he'd do whatever Keith needed him to do in order to help him. In the end they'd be fine. 

"Baby?", Keith disrupted his thoughts after a moment. 

"What is it, love?"

"I could need something else", he meant, a little smile audible in his voice. 

"Anything", Mick replied without even thinking. 

"Hold me again?", Keith said and it sounded like a question. 

"Of course, doudou", Mick returned with a sweet smile, wrapping Keith up in his arms as he laid both of them down, gently kissing his neck, as their legs got entangled

"I love you", Keith whispered, taking Mick's hand to press a kiss to its back, before Mick pulled a blanket over them.

"I love you" he returned, feeling all warm and fuzzy as he engulfed Keith a little closer, nuzzling his face against his hair. Like this, they slowly drifted off to sleep, the now soft rain still hitting the roof of the tent.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> as always, thank you so so much for reading this story, I'm happy you seem to enjoy it!   
> This chapter is the second to last one because there's only so much to tell within each story...I don't want things to get boring and repetitive after all...
> 
> But I've some other stories in planning already, I'm just not sure yet, which one to tackle next :D maybe you wanna let me know which one you'd rather wanna read first?
> 
> #1 would be a one shot, it would be set in 1977 and inspired by actual events, but obviously still canon divergent lol since this is all just fiction (Keith being busted in Toronto and stuck in jail while the Stones play some shows without him in the US...)
> 
> #2 would be another multi-chapter story for which I already wrote the prologue some weeks ago, it would be set in the mid 80s and is completely made up, another AU, where Keith has a teenage nephew whom he takes care of after his parents more or less throw him out for being gay and Mick's working at a LGBT centre
> 
> maybe let me know what you think, otherwise I'll just wait and see what I feel more inspired to write next hahah^^ 
> 
> But first, enjoy this next chapter, it's really and sappy cheesy stuff xD

The rain had stopped overnight and after the storm, everything was much calmer in the next morning. Mick woke up to the sounds of birds chirping and as he opened his eyes, he realised that it would be a much nicer day than the one before, because bright sunlight was already falling through the light material of the tent. The next thing he noticed, was Keith's head bedded against his shoulder and he had an arm draped over Mick's belly, cuddling up to him. As Mick turned his head to better look at Keith, a smile crept onto his face because he seemed so adorable with his messed-up hair and still sleeping all peacefully. A warm feeling started spreading in his chest as he observed his quietly sleeping boyfriend before wrapping him up tighter in his arms and Keith let out a content little sigh in his sleep. 

"Do you have any idea how much I love you?", Mick whispered to himself, smiling about Keith's unconscious reaction, before sneaking a quick kiss to his forehead. Only as he was starting to feel a little more awake already, his brain caught up on everything that Keith had confessed to him the evening before. 

It still made Mick feel incredibly bad and also a little helpless, especially because there was no way he could make any of these things that happened to Keith any better, the damage had already been done. There was nothing he could do to undo it, but what Mick actually could do, what he needed to do, was to find ways to support him. To show him that he loved him and wanted to be with him, without being too clingy again, without trying to move too fast. Because this was the last thing that Keith could need right now, someone who asked too much of him and overburdened him emotionally. 

Mick was aware that he probably would need to give him some space, some time to work through things. But obviously he also wanted to help him the best he could, only he wasn't sure yet what would actually be supportive and what counterproductive. He knew for certain that he would have a hard time trying to suggest to Keith that maybe he could try out talking to someone else, someone professional who maybe could help him. Seeing that it already cost him so much effort to even open up about it to Mick, he could already sense the potential disagreement about it. Keith could be so incredibly stubborn sometimes, if there was something he really wanted to do, or really didn't want to do, then there basically was no way to tell him otherwise. Still, he could at least try making that suggestion because it was the only thing he could come up with right now. Mick didn't necessarily think that Keith needed fixing, there was nothing wrong with him after all. He probably just needed someone to help him accept that he didn't do anything wrong and that what happened wasn't his fault. Because this appeared to be the main problem here, Keith was still blaming himself and therefore couldn't let go and couldn't really move on. 

Apart from that, what Mick had to offer was his comfort, his understanding, and his love. There was no way he would just give up on Keith and allow what happened in his past to come between them now and create tension. The only thing he really feared was Keith giving up on them because he was still being so much influenced and haunted by everything that he probably couldn't handle it otherwise. But actually Mick thought it was a good sign that Keith had decided talking to him, that he trusted him this much. And there was no doubt that Keith loved him, he'd told him over and over again, he'd told him he needed him. So Mick would be there for him.

Only as Keith slowly started stirring awake, Mick was ripped out of his train of thoughts, focusing on the sleepy man in his arms. 

"Hmm…", Keith mumbled, snuggling a little closer to Mick first, before finally opening his tired eyes. 

"Morning, doudou", Mick smiled at him sweetly.

"Morning, babe", Keith got out with a raspy voice, before clearing his throat, which made Mick grin a little.

"How did you sleep?", he wanted to know, running a hand over Keith's back in small patterns. 

"Fine...you were a nice pillow", Keith chuckled and Mick joined in. 

"It seems nice outside", he added then as he realised the bright light and the birds as well. 

"It does", Mick agreed, one hand messing up the hair on the back of Keith's head, while Keith was humming contently. 

"Do we have some food? I'm hungry…", Keith inquired and Mick noticed that they hadn't really eaten anything since they went to that restaurant the afternoon before. 

"We've got biscuits", he meant, it was the only thing they had with them at the moment, since they had figured that they probably would stay at some inn and not have to use the tent. 

"Hmm...I want real food", Keith sighed. 

"I'm afraid this tent didn't come with room service, love", Mick returned in a joking manner and a little grin appeared on Keith's face.

"Pity, I thought we'd just call and order some toast and scrambled eggs...maybe also some of these croissants you like", he gave back and Mick was quite glad to see Keith in a light and joking mood after the conversation they'd had the night before. 

"This would be too good to be true right now", Mick deadpanned and Keith just smirked in reply.

"Can we stay in some proper hotel tonight?", he wanted to know then, lifting his head up to meet Mick's eyes. 

"Sure, baby, we'll look for something nice", he agreed because he could as well need the comfort of an actual bed and a restaurant offering some delicious food. 

"Good", Keith let out a somewhat relieved sigh that made Mick chuckle. "But now can we look for someplace to get breakfast first?" 

 

After having breakfast right in the next small town they reached, they decided to abandon the detour route they'd been taking for purely pittoresque purposes. Instead they returned to one of the main routes leading further down south in order to reach Marseille a little earlier than originally planned. Like this they would have enough time finding an actual hotel they could stay the night at. The only further stops they made were to take a leak, refuel the chopper, and to get some lunch eventually. So they didn't quite get to see an awful lot that day, but it was okay. They also didn't exchange too many words, couldn't, while driving on the motorway. But it was completely alright like this, Mick could sense that Keith actually enjoyed this a lot, finally being able to drive faster again, for once not on these small serpentine roads. And all that was left for him was to tightly hold on to Keith, as the landscape was rushing past them and the airstream was blowing into their faces. 

It was in the afternoon when they finally reached the outskirts of Marseille, but they'd talked about over lunch that it would be quite awesome if they could find a hotel close to the beach once more. So Keith kept riding the motorcycle through the city, towards the harbour and then further down the seafront until they spotted some hotels. As they'd done before, Keith stayed with the chopper and their luggage while Mick went exploring, trying to find a place with a room for two. Since they'd planned staying only for a night, Mick didn't care that the first hotel he stepped foot into, seemed a little bit over their budget. They could spend some more nights in the tent after all if it needed to be, but right now, the only thing he wanted was some really nice place so they could get some proper rest. After a day on the road and a night in the tent during a storm and after Keith confessing this awful story to him, they definitely could need that. 

"Wow, this is all so posh, baby, did you book us into the Ritz?", Keith commented as they entered their room on the third floor. He wasn't wrong, the lobby, the lift, the hallways, everything looked more than just nice, it almost was high-end. Their room was huge and fashionable, just as the en-suite bathroom with the giant bathtub. There also was a large window and in front of it a balcony offering a beautiful sea view. The double bed didn't just seem really comfortable, it actually was, as Mick found out when he just let himself drop down onto it. Keith joined him after putting his bags down and they were lying together on the king-size bed, both with wide smiles on their faces.

"It's so amazing, I don't wanna get up again", Mick meant after a moment, making Keith chuckle. 

"So let's just stay right here for a while...we don't have to go anywhere", Keith suggested and Mick turned onto his side to face him. 

"Can I take you out for dinner later...like...on a date? Buy us some really great food at some really nice place?", he asked, a little smile tugging at his lips, but for some reason he felt a little nervous about asking Keith that. Even though it was quite silly, obviously, seeing that they'd been going out together for months and this certainly wouldn't be their first date. But he didn't know and couldn't tell whether Keith even would be up for it right now. He still wanted to make that suggestion, though, because he thought it could be fun and maybe it was what they needed after that day. 

"You don't have to do that", Keith replied, sheepishly, not meeting his eyes. 

"But I want to...I want to do something nice for you, baby. You deserve it", Mick insisted, putting a hand to Keith's chest, softly running over it. 

"Mick, look...I appreciate it, I do. Though, you don't have to act like this just because you think I'm…I need patronising, alright?", Keith gave back and now Mick knew why he had been agitated about asking Keith out. 

He didn't want him to think like that. This was the exact situation he had wanted to avoid. Of course, Mick was worried about him, he immensely cared for him, and the only thing he wanted was for Keith to be fine. But he wasn't naïve, he knew he couldn't just offer him some sweet words and a romantic evening and everything would be alright again. There was way more to it, more that Keith needed to process, above all he needed some time. Maybe some time alone and some space as well. And should he ask that of him, Mick would gladly give it to him, but right now, all he hoped for was to be able to spend some time with his boyfriend. And he wished that Keith would be up for it and wouldn't dismiss his proposal, because Mick thought that it really could be a beautiful thing to do after a day like that.

"It's not about that, Keith. Come on...can't I ask my man out on a date? I know this won't make anything better, this doesn't change what happened to you, I know. But I just want us to do something nice, have some fun. Are you up for that?"

"Yeah, yeah I am...I'm sorry, I didn't want to be a jerk about this…", Keith answered eventually, finally turning his head to look at him. 

"You weren't. I understand...I don't want to patronise you, I never would. I just...I thought it would be nice…", he gave back, hating how sheepish he sounded, but Keith gave him a light smile. 

"It's okay, baby. I'd be happy to have dinner with you later", Keith meant, putting his own hand over Mick's that was still resting against his chest, entwining their fingers. 

"A dinner date", Mick clarified with a wink. "And we could try out that huge bathtub after, just take a warm bath to relax?", he added smiling and Keith nodded in agreement, mirroring his smile. 

 

As they started getting hungry, they eventually decided to get up from the way too comfortable bed where they'd been resting for almost an hour, lightly dozing all snuggled up and holding each other close.

"But how about a shower first before we're leaving? I want to look nice for you, baby", Keith suggested and it made Mick smile. 

"You always look amazing, doudou. Did I tell you that I really like that stubble on you?"

"You do?", Keith inquired, sounding almost surprised as he stopped on his way over to the bathroom. 

"Yeah, it makes you even more handsome, baby. It's just a little scratchy when you kiss me", Mick replied with a chuckle. 

"I can shave if you'd like?", Keith proposed, grinning a little abashedly. 

"No, it's fine...you don't need to if you don't want to", Mick backpaddled, lifting one hand in an appeasing gesture. 

"I kinda want to know now what you'd look like when not shaving for a few more days", Keith laughed, running a hand over Mick's almost smooth cheek. 

"Not as nice as you, babe", he commented, winking at him. 

"I'm curious, though...you always look so neat, baby", Keith meant, his hand still caressing Mick's face. 

"And don't you like it?", Mick wanted to know, an eyebrow raised in mock question. 

"I do...you're gorgeous", Keith returned, his thumb ghosting over Mick's lips for a moment, before replacing it with his mouth to kiss him softly. It was a too short kiss for Mick's taste, Keith pulled away again before he could even really engage in it. "I just would like to see you with some stubble for a change", Keith added then, making him grin. 

"Okay, I won't shave for another day or two", Mick agreed, laughing. "But just because it's you asking." 

 

A bit over half an hour later, after they'd each taken a really quick shower and put some new clothes on, they strolled down the seafront and spotted a fine looking Italian place. After all the French food they'd tried the days before, this seemed to be quite a welcome change. A look at the menu told them that it wasn't even that top notch, even though it appeared to be pretty nice. They ordered some antipasti first, then risotto with sea fruits, and finally some self made ice cream as dessert. It all tasted incredibly delicious and they greatly enjoyed this meal. 

"That's literally the best thing I've eaten all day", Keith jokingly said during the main dish, making Mick snort, thinking back of these weird dry baguette sandwiches they had for lunch at some gas station in the afternoon. 

"No, honestly, it's delicious…", he added in a more sincere tone. "This was a great idea, Mick." 

"I know", Mick smirked, glad that Keith seemed happy about it. His mood had been way more relaxed ever since they agreed to go out together and he was lightly chatting with Mick about what they could be doing the next day. 

By the time their dessert arrived, they already felt so full from the main dish that it would probably have been a real challenge to finish the ice cream if it wasn't tasting that incredibly amazing. 

"They always give you these huge scoops of ice cream in Italy...it's brilliant", Mick told with a smile, thinking back of the time after graduating from school when he went on a trip to a few European countries with two of his mates. They'd also been to Italy and even after a decade he still could remember that one especially amazing ice cream parlour located in some small town by the Adriatic Sea. 

"I've never been", Keith admitted, scooping some of the stracciatella ice cream into his mouth. 

"Maybe it's worth considering it for another holiday trip", Mick mentioned as he tried some more of the coffee ice. 

"With you?", Keith asked and it was hard to pinpoint the emotion in his voice. 

"I mean...if you wanted to?", Mick replied carefully, sounding quite uncertain now. He hadn't wanted to make yet another suggestion that could contribute to making Keith feel uncomfortable anew. That's why he rather had stuck to a more general statement but he still wasn't sure how Keith had taken it. 

"Why wouldn't I?", Keith, however, returned to his surprise, actually sounding a bit astounded even. 

"I don't know...I didn't want to assume anything…", he said. "I...I didn't want things to get weird again…", he added silently, averting his gaze to the ice cream in front of him. 

"Well...I...I kinda would love to go to Italy with you someday", Keith meant, and as Mick looked back up at him, a smile was spreading across Keith's face. Something close to relief was flushing through his veins as Mick mirrored his smile. He knew it was pretty much theoretical, there was no way any of them could take even more days off from their jobs in quite a while and he was aware that Keith knew this as well. Yet the simple fact that Keith was talking potential future holiday plans with him was more than he had expected. Especially after the last few days and all the bricks Mick had dropped. 

"Yeah, me too...someday", Mick gave back, fixing his eyes on Keith's and all he could see in his gaze was affection. 

 

Once they had finished their dinner and left the restaurant, it was already dusk outside and the sky was bathed in shades of orange and red. 

"Do you wanna go down to the beach and see the sun set?", Mick asked Keith as they stepped outside into the street. 

"Sure, why not", he agreed with a little smile and Mick would have loved to wrap his arm around Keith's waist, pulling him close while walking towards the beach. But granted that it was still quite busy around them, obviously this wasn't a possibility. A lot of other tourists were strolling around, window shopping, some people only now went on their way home from a day swimming and sunbathing, others apparently had the same idea as them and went for a walk at the beach. They certainly couldn't be as undisturbed here as they'd been this one afternoon on that small hidden bay near le Mont-Saint-Michel. 

When they reached the beach, they slipped off their shoes, leaving footprints in the still warm sand as they went down to the Mediterranean Sea. The water rolling onto the shore in mellow waves had an agreeable temperature as well and so they gladly dipped their feet inside. After roaming around for a while, they decided to just sit down on the white sand as the sun slowly disappeared on the horizon, the sky fading from orange and red to pink and purple. 

They didn't really talk much, didn't feel the need to, while they were sitting there, looking out onto the endless sea of water getting darker, enjoying just being together. Keith's hand was running through the sand, letting it slide through his fingers until Mick started to copy his motions, inching closer to him in the process. Finally, his index finger brushed against the back of Keith's hand and as Mick took a glance over at him, a sheepish little smile appeared on Keith's face. This time, unlike at Freddie's café, he didn't pull his hand away when Mick ran his fingers over it. Instead, Keith turned his palm up so Mick could easily slip his own hand into it, entwining their fingers. It was dark enough by now that no random passers-by would notice and also their hands were halfway covered by sand. Like this, they silently stayed sitting next to each other for a long while, gently squeezing each other's hand or trailing their thumbs over the other's skin. Only as the night air was getting chillier and Mick started shivering lightly, their comfortable silence was broken. 

"We should go back to the hotel, it's getting fresh out here", Mick proposed and dragged himself up before holding a hand out for Keith. He grabbed it and let Mick pull him up, smiling at him sweetly. Mick returned his smile and then quickly pecked his cheek, since nobody was around and it was too dark now anyway. Then they eventually went on their way back to their hotel. 

 

"Are you still up to take that bath, baby?", Mick wanted to know once back in their room. "Cause I could really need that right now."

"Of course, we gotta check out that large bathtub after all", Keith chuckled. "Like when do we ever get the chance to share a bath together without always bumping into something?", he added as they already stepped into the bathroom and Mick turned up the tap, making sure the water had the right temperature. 

While they were waiting for the tub to fill, they started undressing and Mick couldn't stop himself from mindlessly staring at Keith's bare upper body, admiring his abs, the curve of his hip bone and the trail of soft dark hair spreading across his chest and belly. He was just so gorgeous and Mick felt like he hadn't touched him in ages, even though this clearly was just his subjective perception because he'd held closely onto Keith while riding the chopper and also as they were cuddling in bed earlier that evening. When Keith caught him looking, however, they both got a little flustered about it even though there really was no reason to. It wasn't like they hadn't seen each other undressed countless of times before, like they didn't know exactly what the other's skin felt and tasted like. Still, they both averted their gaze for a moment, while continuing to further strip down. Mick was the first to step into the bathtub, emerging into the comfortingly warm water. Keith joined him a moment later, sitting down between Mick's legs, his arms wrapped around his own knees. Only as Mick softly ran his hands over Keith's back, his shoulders and upper arms, he finally relaxed his tense muscles and eventually leaned back against Mick. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare at you like that...but you're so beautiful, love", Mick apologetically mumbled close to Keith's ear, his fingertips dancing over Keith's chest. 

"I just...it feels a little odd, you know...", Keith said, not explaining right away what exactly he meant. Mick didn't know, but also didn't ask him, though, he simply continued caressing his chest, waiting for Keith to elaborate. 

"After everything that I told you...and that we talked about last night...you know everything…and it made me feel...exposed. And a bit weird…", Keith admitted, his hand playing with the foam of the bathing oil Mick had put into the water. 

"I didn't mean to…", Mick started, but Keith cut him off before he could even get into it. 

"It doesn't matter, Mick...I still...I'm still...it's embarrassing…it feels like it. And I can't get rid of this feeling...and while telling you...it all...I just...I remembered again...", he confessed and Mick immediately started feeling worried and sad for Keith once more. 

"You don't have to be ashamed, baby...not with me", he quietly told him, hugging him a little tighter. It was incredibly tough because Mick didn't quite know what else he could or should offer to Keith in order to comfort him. He didn't want to patronise him in any way, but he wanted to show him that he'd be there for him. 

"Well I can't really choose not to be...I gotta learn how not to be", Keith mumbled in return, not playing around with the foam any longer, but resting his hand on Mick's knee instead. 

"But before you told me…?", Mick began, not quite sure how to best formulate his question, but Keith got it nevertheless. 

"I could pretend. I just tried to ignore it...but now that you know...it means that it's real", he whispered and his voice sounded awfully close to breaking like it had the evening before. 

"But I'm glad you told me, love. You shouldn't have to go through this all by yourself anymore", Mick mentioned, starting to massage Keith's shoulders in order to calm him down a little. "I'm not judging you, Keith. I don't blame you for anything and you shouldn't either, you're not the one to blame. What happened wasn't your fault at all and it was the right thing to talk about it", he made clear to him once more, sensing how Keith slowly began to relax, leaning further into his touch.

"I'm just so mad sometimes…", he meant, letting out a frustrated sigh. 

"At that woman?"

"Yeah...and myself…"

"Is there anything we could do...I could do to help you feel better?", Mick wanted to know, his massaging motions by now had turned into more gentle caresses as his hands were sliding down Keith's arms and then to his front, gracing his chest and belly. 

"You're doing so much already, Mick...thanks for everything you did for me just tonight. That food was amazing...and down at the beach, it was beautiful, being there with you. You're so sweet with me, baby…"

"Of course...I love you, Keith. If you need anything, just tell me. I'll be there for you", Mick promised, pressing a little kiss to his neck and in the next moment he felt how Keith was trembling in his arms, shaken by the silent tears he was crying. 

"Hey, baby...it's okay…you're gonna be okay", Mick whispered against his neck, wrapping Keith up closer in his arms, holding him while he was sobbing. 

It didn't take him as long as the other night to calm down again, but nevertheless by the time Keith's breathing had steadied, the water was getting cold. 

"Let's go to bed, doudou, shall we?", Mick quietly suggested and Keith only nodded, before Mick got out first, wrapping a towel around his hips, before holding another one out for Keith. He stepped out of the bathtub and Mick engulfed him with the towel. Once they both were dried off and had slipped some new pants on, they finally went to lie down on the huge comfortable bed, facing each other. 

"Are you okay for now, love?", Mick wanted to know, as they'd already turned the lights off, but he still could see Keith's silhouette perfectly well in the light of the street lamps. 

"You're too good for me", Keith returned, he sounded crestfallen. 

"Noo...don't ever think that, baby", Mick insisted, putting a hand against his cheek and ran his thumb over it as if to underline his statement. 

"But it's true, I'm...I'm broken…", Keith croaked, his voice still hoarse from crying before. 

"Keith, don't say that about yourself, it isn't true", he tried again, a little more vehemently. 

"It is, Mick. Look...I cannot promise you anything...not that I'm gonna be alright to move in with you anytime soon...I'm not even ready to...I want to know what it feels like, but…", he argued, before breaking off. 

"What?"

"Sleeping with you and...letting you take the lead for a change. I want that, I want this experience with you, babe...but I cannot yet...whenever I try to think about it…", he stammered, not able to finish his sentence. 

"I'm so sorry about this, Mick...I wish I could...it could be different. That I could tell you what you want to hear...that I was ready to live with you...and that I was ready to let you have me, all of me...I'm sorry that I can't yet…", he added before Mick could find any words to reply. 

"Keith...we don't have to do any of these things anytime soon. There's no rush and no need to be sorry for this. You don't have to move in with me next week or even in a month or so. I know we'll get there eventually and I'm gonna wait for you. I'll be there when you're ready", Mick assured him, still gently trailing his finger over Keith's cheek. 

"Thanks, baby...I don't know what to say...I love you...did I tell you that today? I really love you, Mick…", Keith got out eventually, his voice still drenched with tears and he put his own hand over Mick's, holding it in place. 

"You did now", Mick returned, a little smirk audible in his voice, before scooting closer to press a small kiss to Keith's nose. "And I really love you too, doudou", he added, nuzzling his face against Keith's as they both slowly started drifting off into sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> This is gonna be the last chapter of this story. I hope it's a nice conclusion and that you enjoy it as much as the previous chapters! Anyway, thank you so much for reading this story, for all the kudos and comments, I'm really really so happy and amazed that you liked it that much :)  
> Also you won't have to wait too long for more, cause I wrote that oneshot (option #1 that I mentioned before :D) and I'll probably post it already by tomorrow if I get around to it...but for now, enjoy reading this last chapter!

Their holiday trip was almost drawing to a close by now. After spending a day in Marseille, mostly lounging on the beach, they'd driven along west on the Cote d'Azur, visiting Nice and Monaco as well. There, they randomly met a group of other bikers from a small town near Paris who'd told them about taking an auto train from Lyon to Paris on their way back. It allowed them to cut down their time on the road about at least half a day, so Mick and Keith decided to try out that option as well. 

Like this, they had been able to spend another day in Paris, actually sticking to their word, stopping by "The Cool Cat" café once more for lunch. Freddie and Jim had been absolutely delighted to see them again. While taking their orders and serving them some delicious tarte, Freddie had eagerly questioned them about their trip and made Jim promise him to take him to the Cote d'Azur once again soon because they hadn't been there in years. After Keith had suggested them to come by his record shop if they ever were in London, they'd said their goodbyes and spent another while strolling through Paris. But eventually they had to continue their travel back home and for the last night, decided to stay at a hotel in a beautiful small town between Paris and Calais. This way, they could easily make it to the port the next morning and take a ferry over to Dover. 

After a really nice dinner with amazing french food and some exquisite red wine, they'd agreed to go to bed early because they still had a whole day of travelling ahead of them before they'd eventually be back in London. While they were lying in the small hotel bed, facing each other, Mick softly drawing the outlines of Keith's lips with his index finger, he was almost getting a little nostalgic. About the fact that their holiday trip was coming to an end soon, that this was their last night away, and that after the next day, he very likely wouldn't see Keith all week because they both would have some catching up to do on their jobs. It made him almost a little anxious, like a heavy burden was tightening his chest, leaving him not enough space to breathe. He was very well aware that he'd be missing Keith badly once they wouldn't get to see each other anymore every day. The prospect of maybe just being with him again the upcoming weekend made his heart ache. 

"I miss you, baby. I want you…", Mick mumbled, his voice nearly choking on the lump that had settled in his throat. Almost absent-mindedly, he was trailing his hand over Keith's cheek and neck, finally letting it rest on his bare chest. 

"We've been spending all day together for almost two weeks", Keith returned almost incredulously and Mick wasn't sure whether Keith actually didn't get his intention or just didn't want to. 

"No...you know what I mean", he said, sounding a little sheepish now. 

"I don't...tell me", Keith gave back, but his voice wasn't daring, he almost sounded tired. 

"Since...ever since that night in the tent when you told me what your ex did to you…", Mick started, disrupting himself to swallow hard. 

He still couldn't comprehend why anybody would want to hurt Keith like that, it was unbearable. And he wasn't quite sure whether he should go on and tell him how he was feeling, because in the light of what Keith had to go through, Mick actually thought he might be rather self-indulgent. 

"You've been a little distant lately and I get it...I mean...I don't know how you're feeling, not as long as you don't tell me, but…", he went on because he knew that if they didn't talk about this, eventually it might get too much or too awkward and he didn't want that. But neither did he want Keith to get uncomfortable once more, it wasn't something he wished Keith ever should feel around him. As it was, the situation was a little tacky, but it wasn't anything they couldn't get passed by talking it out. At least that's what Mick hoped. 

"What?", Keith asked, clearly sounding somewhat insecure now. 

"Do you...I mean...I don't know how to tell you this without sounding like a selfish jerk...", he replied, sighing in frustration about himself, but mainly about the distance that had settled between them. Not literally right now, since they were lying together closely, their limbs entangled. But figuratively it felt like they were miles apart. Like Mick already was alone back in his flat in Kensington, while Keith was over in Lewisham. 

"Just tell me, Mick, you don't need to handle me with kid gloves", Keith mentioned, he didn't seem annoyed but rather sounded encouraging. 

"I get when you need some time and your space, baby, I do. But I love you so much...and I...I just want us to make love again. Cause we didn't ever since...and I miss you like that, being with you like that...I really miss feeling you like that, Keith…", he finally dared to confess, sensing his cheeks flush as he averted his gaze from Keith's eyes to his own hand, still resting against Keith's chest. 

It had been five days since the night in the tent and while they'd surely been cuddling and kissing every day, it had all been very innocent. When they'd taken a bath or a shower together, they'd talked or washed each other, which was enjoyable and sweet but it wasn't enough for Mick. He missed this easy flirtation they had going on in the beginning of their trip. He missed the way things had always been between them before they went to France together, before things got more serious in any way. 

They'd hypothetically talked about getting married, they'd discussed the more realistic but still seemingly far away possibility of moving in together, Keith had opened up to him about his past trauma. And Mick was clearly aware that things couldn't always just be nice and easy, that there were rough patches to overcome sometimes. But he'd known for a while now that it wouldn't scare him off, that he'd want to stick with Keith during light times and darker ones. Because he was certain that Keith was worth it all, that being with him was all he wanted and that ultimately made him happier than he could describe with bare words, even if there were some obstacles on their way. 

"I know. I know that...and I'm so sorry, babe. I just...I didn't really feel up to it", Keith immediately apologised and it made Mick feel pretty bad for even mentioning what he did. 

He didn't want to put any pressure on him, this really would be the last thing Keith could need. And he certainly didn't want to come across as too needy and pushy, even though he wanted him badly, even though frankly put, he missed getting laid. But he clearly understood that this wasn't only about him or what he wanted right now. It was about giving Keith whatever he needed to work through what happened so that in the end it would close this distance that had appeared between them. Even if it meant that for now Mick needed to let him be. Probably spending some days apart once they came back home would be beneficial either, even if it certainly would come with feelings of longing and missing. 

"It's okay, love. I understand...I didn't want to rush you, I just wanted you to know…", Mick backpaddled, feeling quite abashed about it all. 

"I need a little more time, baby…", he admitted and Mick nodded in understanding.

"It's fine, doudou...can I hold you at least?", he asked almost coyly and Keith nodded lightly. 

"Of course", he agreed and Mick happily wrapped him up in his arms, leaning his head against Keith's. 

"I'm gonna miss you so much next week", he quietly said, face pressed against Keith's hair, his hand painting small patterns on Keith's back. 

"Don't think about that now. We'll still have all day together tomorrow", Keith told him, running his hand up and down Mick's side in an almost calming manner. 

"Yeah, but when we're back in London…", he started, but Keith didn't want to hear it. 

"It's gonna be okay. I think...it might be a good thing being apart for a few days", he said instead.

"You think?", Mick wanted to know, that heavy pressure tightening his chest once more as he let off of Keith a little to be able to better look at him. He didn't like this prospect at all but apparently Keith was thinking differently. 

"Yeah...don't get me wrong, babe, I love you, but...it might be easier for me to think...you know, sort my thoughts...try to...to get along, when I'm not around you for a while", Keith went on, not proving him wrong in his assumption. 

"I see…", was all he offered, because he felt himself choking on held back tears. 

"Mick…", Keith meant, but he cut him off before he could go any further. 

"No...Keith. It's...I'm not happy about it, obviously, I bloody hate this, actually. But...I told you, if you need some space, I'll give it to you, if that's what you want", he said, tears stinging in his eyes because it felt impossible, even though it was the only right thing to do. 

"I'm sorry, baby", Keith returned and out of blurry eyes, Mick could see that he was fighting down tears as well. 

"You don't need to be", he got out, followed by a stifled sob, burying his face in the crook of Keith's neck. 

"You're pissed at me", Keith eventually assessed after a quiet moment where they both were clinging to each other, shedding some silent tears. 

"I'm not pissed at you, love. I'm frustrated about the way things are…", Mick replied truthfully, rubbing a hand over his face. 

"I just need some time, Mick."

"I know...But will you seek help? I mean, you could go see a professional if you think it might help…", he started to suggest, but Keith disrupted him. 

"You want me to go to a shrink?", he asked, looking like Mick had just proposed swimming through the Channel instead of taking a ferry. 

"I'm just suggesting that...maybe it'll help", Mick gave back, meekly, as Keith let go of him to turn onto his back.

"Mick, come on, it's ridiculous...what would I even tell them? I don't want to talk about this…", Keith only offered and it was exactly what Mick had expected him to say. Yet the space between them where Keith's warm body had been pressed against his own, almost felt unbreachable now. 

"But how are you gonna get over it then?", Mick tried anew, nevertheless, feeling the familiar pain in his chest as he found it increasingly harder to breathe. He propped himself up on one arm as if it could help but obviously it didn't.

"I will deal with this my own way, okay?"

"I just...want you to be alright, baby. I don't know how to help you...so I thought someone else might be able to…", he said so quietly that Keith probably wouldn't even have heard him if he wasn't still lying next to him. 

"You can help me by...just letting me be about this, by letting me think. It's all in my head, I need to sort this out for myself first…", Keith told him then, still not looking at him, but with his gaze directed at the ceiling. 

"Are you mad at me?", Mick eventually dared to inquire. 

"I'm annoyed…", was all he got back. 

"I'm sorry...I just wanted to help…", Mick admitted sheepishly, letting himself fall onto his back as well. 

"I know, baby...I know. And I'm sorry too", Keith replied after a little while, a sigh clearly audible in his voice. 

"There's nothing you should be sorry for. But will you let me know if you need my help, though?", Mick wanted to know, turning his head to look at Keith. 

"Alright", Keith agreed, then finally meeting his eyes again. 

"Alright", Mick repeated, a little smile creeping onto his face as he felt Keith's hand lightly pressing his own. 

 

They reached Mick's flat in Kensington about seven the next evening. Actually it was a detour for Keith, driving him home first and then returning south to his own place. It was an hour to drive and Mick disliked the idea that Keith would have to go all the way back to Lewisham just because they both had to work early the next morning. Otherwise he would have suggested for Keith to stay over so that they could spend another night together, even though he wasn't quite sure whether Keith would have agreed to it. 

"Do you want to come upstairs with me?", he tried anyway just to postpone their goodbye. 

"I should get going, Mick", Keith returned, he was still straddling the chopper and had only taken off his helmet. 

"How about you help me carry up my stuff and then I go over to the chippy, getting us some fish'n'chips for dinner? You've gotta be hungry, baby", Mick suggested then, looking at him expectantly. 

"Fine…but I can't stay too long", Keith meant with a sigh, before getting off the motorcycle. 

Once they'd brought Mick's bags upstairs and he'd gotten some food for them, they were sitting in Mick's living room eating the greasy meal. 

"Thanks for staying for dinner, love", Mick meant eventually as he was halfway done with his portion. 

"I was hungry", Keith returned, but the sparkle in his eyes told Mick that he was at least partly joking and didn't only stay for the food. 

"When can I see you again?", he asked then without beating around the bush. It probably would be hard to organise during the week, but maybe the upcoming weekend would be fine. 

"Next weekend, maybe. I don't know yet", Keith returned, stuffing some chips into his mouth. 

"Can I at least call you?", Mick wanted to know, hating how desperate he sounded. 

"Let me call you, okay?", Keith suggested in return. "I don't want you to call me when I'd only hang up on you because I'm not in the mood to talk", he explained. 

"Yeah...sure. But can you at least tell me when you might be calling so I make sure I'm there?", Mick gave back, wearily. 

"Wednesday evening maybe?"

"This is ages…", he sighed. 

"It's three days", Keith gave back, appearing pretty much unfazed. 

"But I'm missing you already", Mick meant, aware that he sounded like a nagging child. 

"Mick...before we went on this trip together we didn't see each other in a week, or ten days sometimes. We were alright then. We're gonna be alright now", Keith reminded him and he couldn't really argue with that. 

"Can't you stay with me tonight?", he still asked, even though he was well aware it wasn't possible. 

"I've got a class to teach tomorrow morning and you know that", came Keith's answer and Mick just stared down on the last few chips in front of him, defeated. 

"I'm sorry…"

"Look, Mick...I'm missing you too, alright? Don't you think I miss you just as badly?"

"It doesn't seem that way…", he replied in a low voice, still not looking at Keith. 

"It's because I'm trying to keep my shit together, okay? I'm trying to deal with this, please don't make this even harder for me, baby", Keith told him, his voice actually sounded almost pleading and it made Mick feel even worse than he did already. 

"I'm sorry", he repeated, feeling quite awful. 

"I think I should get going on my way now", Keith meant, getting up from the couch, then leaving the living room and walking straight over to the door of Mick's flat. 

"Keith, wait…", he went after him, almost knocking into the coffee table. 

"What?", Keith said, sounding rather irritated. 

"Do you wanna leave like that? Without even saying goodbye?", Mick asked, incredulously, as he finally caught up to him and they were standing in his corridor, just staring at each other. 

"I'm sorry our trip ended like this...I thought it would get us closer", Keith eventually muttered, his gaze averted. 

"It did, though…", Mick argued, because obviously it had. Keith had felt comfortable enough to share his most troubling thoughts and memories with him and Mick was more convinced than ever that Keith was the one for him and that he wanted to be with him for the long run. Even though right now everything seemed to be a bit rocky. 

"It doesn't feel like it right now", Keith mumbled, sounding as defeated as Mick felt. 

"I know...I guess a few days apart won't be that bad after all…", Mick eventually gave in because he realised that there was no other way. He had to let Keith leave now, be alone with his thoughts to sort them out. It was the only thing he could help him with at the moment. 

"I'll call you on Wednesday, okay?" 

"Okay", he repeated. It only was half a week. 

"It's gonna be alright", Keith said and Mick wasn't quite sure whom he rather wanted to calm down with this statement. 

"We're gonna be fine", he agreed, trying to believe in his own words. 

"Come here", Keith meant then, pulling him into a close embrace and Mick held onto him as if he was drowning. "Just give me a while and I'll be back with you, alright?", Keith mumbled close to his ear and Mick nodded. 

"I'll be waiting for you, baby", he whispered against Keith's neck, before pressing a little kiss there. Keith then cupped Mick's cheeks with his hands, turning his head to capture his lips in an almost desperate kiss. 

 

Mick waited almost two weeks before Keith finally came back to him. Two weeks of longing and heartache, of being unnecessary annoyed at his colleagues and friends. Two weeks of only being able to talk to Keith on the phone three times for a little while. The first time he had called him, they mostly talked about how their week had been going. Mick didn't dare asking how trying to process things had been so far for Keith and he also didn't mention it. The second time Keith had called, was three days later, to let him know that they couldn't spend the weekend together because he wasn't ready yet. At least he'd told Mick that he was getting somewhere, even though he didn't elaborate. He'd just asked for a bit more patience. The third time he called, was just to check in on him, it had been a short call, but Keith sounded happier. Mick had hoped it was a good sign. 

It was Saturday evening, almost two weeks after they came back home from their trip to France. Mick had hoped to hear from Keith that day, but it was dinner time already and he still hadn't called him. Mentally he was preparing for yet another couple days without seeing him, or even getting to talk to him on the phone. It was getting less bearable with every passing day and he'd had to pull himself together countless of times to not just grab the phone and dial Keith's number. 

Luckily, he had been quite busy with work recently because he had been asked to co-write a new TV mini series. Unfortunately, though, it was a romantic comedy about a girl, Emma, falling for an exchange student from India and then travelling after him once he had to go back home in order to be with him again. It was supposed to have some light Bollywood influences in the end, because they wanted to appeal to a new demographic. Writing these characters was quite challenging for Mick in the current situation. He literally felt Emma's pining and heartbreak when envisioning the scene where Rohit had to go back to his family in India. But obviously he couldn't just put all of his own feelings into his screenwriting. Still, knowing that there, obviously, would be a happy ending for her and Rohit made him at least feel somewhat better. He knew that Keith loved him and it was only a matter of time for him to come back. Even though it seemed like forever and like he'd never been missing anyone that badly and felt such a huge longing, deep down he was sure that Keith would be ready to be with him soon. It was only a temporary situation. These thoughts were what got him through the week, what made him hold on when he actually was close to breaking down, what helped him to still the longing. 

He had the radio on while preparing dinner, cutting an onion, when his doorbell rang. Wondering whom of his friends might be stopping by rather unannounced, he put the knife down and wiped away his onion-caused tears before going to answer the door. 

"Keith", is all he got out as he opened the door and there he was standing in front of him, completely unexpected but more than a pleasant surprise. 

"Hey there", he said, with an almost sheepish little smile. His hair was a bit disheveled, he looked tired and was spotting some stubble, his guitar case in one hand. 

"Hi", Mick replied, staring at him in disbelief, as a smile started spreading on his face. 

"Where you crying?", Keith observed, as they were still standing in the doorway and at first Mick was a bit confused upon this question. 

"I was cutting onions for dinner…", he explained, remembering that his eyes must look red and blurry. 

"Oh", Keith just made in return. 

"What are you doing here?", Mick more or less blurted out, still quite dumbfounded because he'd expected to find anybody but Keith in front of his door right now. 

"Can I come in?", Keith asked back and Mick stepped aside to finally let him inside. 

"Of course", he meant, closing the door behind him, and just let Keith enough time to put his guitar case down, before engulfing him in a tight embrace. Keith's body pressed so closely against his own, his arms wrapped around Mick's back tightly and his warm breath sensible against Mick's neck was what relief felt like. Finally the heavy burden had been lifted from his chest, giving him the freedom to breathe again. It seemed completely right like this, exactly how it was supposed to be. 

"I missed you so badly, my love…", he whispered, as they continued clinging to each other as if it hadn't only been two weeks but a whole year since they'd last seen each other. But even only these couple weeks had appeared just as endlessly as spending 365 days apart. 

"I've missed you too, a lot", Keith confessed, tightening his grip around Mick's back and nuzzling his face closer against his neck, before pressing some soft kisses there. 

"How are you, baby?", Mick wanted to know after a while, running his hands over Keith's back almost soothingly, then let go of him a bit so he could look at his face. 

"I...I think I'm on a good way for now", Keith meant, underlining his words with a nod and a little smile. 

"You are?", Mick asked, delighted about these news. All he wanted was for Keith to be alright. 

"Yeah...I wrote enough songs to fill a whole record...you know, sorted my thoughts and feelings like that and got them out of the way…", he explained, finally loosening his grip on Mick a bit, but not letting him go yet. 

"I'm glad...also will you play me something, or why did you bring the guitar?", he said, a grin on his face. 

"Oh, I was jamming with Ronnie earlier...but...I was thinking I could just leave it here", Keith mentioned almost casually. 

"You want to leave your guitar here? Why?", Mick wanted to know and eventually let go of Keith because he was so astounded about this. 

"Well, it's only one of my four guitars", Keith chuckled at Mick's dumbfounded expression. "And...I thought it would be nice having it, you know...when I'm here with you. I could just always have it here, play you something or so…", he drifted off, a sheepish expression on his face. 

"So...that means...what does it mean?"

"Well...I'm here now, aren't I?", Keith said, biting his bottom lip. 

"Are you gonna stay?", Mick hopefully asked. 

"Do you want me to?"

"Of course I want you to...I missed you so much, doudou…", he said, not able to do anything else but pull him into another hug. 

"Yeah, me too, baby", Keith admitted, his hand messing up the hair at the back of Mick's head. 

"I love you so much", he added, pressing some cute little kisses to Mick's jaw before he gently brushed his lips with his own in a short kiss as if to test the waters. 

"And I love you, babe", Mick whispered back, a little disappointed that Keith had pulled away too quickly, but he didn't question it. 

"Are you okay?", he only wanted to know as they finally broke their embrace, he was still holding on to Keith's hand though. 

"I'll be. As long as I've got you, baby", Keith meant, giving him a sweet smile that Mick mirrored. 

"Well, I won't go anywhere, love", he assured him, pressing his hand lightly and entwining their fingers. 

"What are you cooking?", Keith wanted to know then, looking over at the kitchen. 

"Just some bangers and mash with fried onions…you wanna help me?", he answered, already dragging Keith towards the kitchen, but he stopped him, pulling him back into his arms. 

"Sure...but first I kinda want to kiss you again, properly this time?", Keith meant, a lopsided grin on his lips that made Mick chuckle. 

"Sure", he grinned in reply, wrapping his arms around Keith's neck, to pull him closer. "I've wanted to do that for the past two weeks, doudou", Mick added, happily smiling and before Keith could return anything else, he closed the last distance between them until their lips finally collided in a longing kiss.


End file.
